Displaying song lyrics and vocal cues

ABSTRACT

Described are methods, systems, and apparatuses, including computer program products, for displaying song lyrics and vocal cues in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this is accomplished by displaying, on a display in communication with a game platform, a vocal cue. The vocal cue moves on the display in synchronization with a timing component of a musical composition towards a target marker. Lyrics are also displayed, but instead of moving with the movement of the vocal cue the lyrics are displayed in a fixed position. The lyrics maintain their position until the vocal cue has moved to a particular position with respect to the target marker.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to video games, and, more specifically,rhythm-action games which simulate the experience of playing in a band.

BACKGROUND

Music making is often a collaborative effort among many musicians whointeract with each other. One form of musical interaction may beprovided by a video game genre known as “rhythm-action,” which involvesa player performing phrases from an assigned, prerecorded musicalcomposition using a video game's input device to simulate a musicalperformance. If the player performs a sufficient percentage of the notesor cues displayed for the assigned part, the singer may score well forthat part and win the game. If the player fails to perform a sufficientpercentage, the singer may score poorly and lose the game. Two or moreplayers may compete against each other, such as by each one attemptingto play back different, parallel musical phrases from the same songsimultaneously, by playing alternating musical phrases from a song, orby playing similar phrases simultaneously. The player who plays thehighest percentage of notes correctly may achieve the highest score andwin.

Two or more players may also play with each other cooperatively. In thismode, players may work together to play a song, such as by playingdifferent parts of a song, either on similar or dissimilar instruments.One example of a rhythm-action game with different instruments is theROCK BAND® series of games, developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.and published by Electronic Arts, Inc. and MTV Games. ROCK BAND®simulates a band experience by allowing players to play a rhythm-actiongame using various simulated instruments, e.g., a simulated guitar, asimulated bass guitar, a simulated drum set, or by singing into amicrophone. Other examples of rhythm-action games, focused specificallyon singing or vocal performances are the KARAOKE REVOLUTION® series ofgames published by Konami Digital Entertainment, the SINGSTAR® seriespublished by SONY Computer Entertainment, and LIPS™ published byMicrosoft Corporation. An example of a prior art systems and methods forcomparing a received vocal input's pitch and timing to a particularvocal track pitch is U.S. Pat. No. 7,164,076 to McHale et al.

Prior rhythm-action games directed to vocal performance typically allowone or more players to sing the main vocal part of a song, i.e., thevocal melody. Often the interfaces of these games are similar totraditional karaoke interfaces in that the lyrics appear as words on adisplay in a sequence and some indication is given to the player whichlyrics should be sung when. For example, in Microsoft's LIPS™ game, alyrical phrase is displayed in white text in the center of the screenand when a word is supposed to be sung, that word's text changes colorfrom white to yellow. Naturally, at the end of the phrase, the text ofthe entire phrase is yellow. While the current phrase is beingperformed, the next phrase is displayed in grey text below the currentphrase and at the end of the current phrase, the new phrase is shiftedup and the text is changed from grey to white.

Beyond what is offered by traditional karaoke systems, manyvocal-oriented rhythm-action games also indicate to the player the pitchthe player is expected to sing. In LIPS™, a series of stationary hollowhorizontal cues or “note tubes” are arranged vertically according to thepitch to person is expected to sing; higher notes are displayed as tubeslocated higher on the display than tubes representing lower notes. Thelength of a note tube generally indicates the duration of the lyrics orsyllable, and the tubes fill in with color only when the player issinging on key. When the next phrase is to be sung, the prior set oftubes disappears and the next set of tubes is displayed.

In SINGSTAR®, a similar pitch-relative stationary tube system isused—that is hollow tubes show what the player is expected to sing—butthe input from the player also paints tubes on the screen reflecting theplayer's pitch. This has the effect of filling in the hollow tubes whenthe player is on key and coloring in areas above and below the tube whenthe player's voice is sharp or flat, respectively, to the expectedpitch.

KARAOKE REVOLUTION® presents pitch differently that LIPS™ or SINGSTAR®.In KARAOKE REVOLUTION®, a lane is displayed to the player with a notetubes within it that scroll from right to left with lyrics that scrollunder the corresponding note tubes. Both the lyrics and note tubes passthrough the vertical plane of a target marker, or “Now Bar,” thatindicates when the lyric is supposed to be sung and at what pitch.Additionally, an arrow-shaped pitch indicator moves vertically withinthe lane with respect to the note tube to indicate how sharp or flat theplayer's voice is compared to the expected pitch represented by the notetube and aligns with the note tube and gives off “sparks” when theplayer is on key. Unfortunately, the display method used in KARAOKEREVOLUTION® is incompatible with certain displays and causes the lyricsof a song to “tear” and blur, thereby interfering with the player'senjoyment of the game.

Another problem with prior rhythm-action games is the handling ofmultiple singers. Often only one player is allowed to provide the vocalsfor a group. Where multiple players can sing, even as a group, players'performances are isolated with respect to each other—that is for eachplayer a separate lane is presented on the display. This is true evenwhen both players are singing the exact same part. Furthermore, thoughthese existing rhythm-action games provide a single user with theability to sing as part of a band, or sing the same vocal parts asanother player, i.e., both players sing the melody as a duet or to singas lead and backup vocals, none allow players to dynamically switchwhich vocal part the player is singing. In existing rhythm-action gameswhere players can sing simultaneously, players are locked into aparticular part. For example, in KARAOKE REVOLUTION® PRESENTS AMERICANIDOL® ENCORE, during a “True Duet” where two players singsimultaneously, before the song starts, one player must choose to sing“lead vocals” while the second player chooses “backup.” Once gameplaybegins, each player is required to sing only the assigned phrases forthe part they initially selected, and are penalized as “missing” his orher assigned part if they sing the part assigned to the other player.These part assignments remain until the end of gameplay, thus preventingplayer from experimenting with different parts unless they physicallyexchange microphones. The present invention overcomes these deficienciesin several ways.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, implemented in various ways such as computerizedmethods executed by a game platform, executable instructions tangiblyembodied in a computer readable storage medium, systems with anapparatus configured to perform particular functions, apparatuses withmeans for performing the functions, and other forms of technology,provides players of a rhythm-action game a playing experience that moreclosely resembles that of a cooperative band. This is achieved throughseveral aspects of the invention.

In one aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatus configuredto perform particular functions, computer program products, andapparatuses that provide means for dynamically determining a musicalpart performed by a player of a rhythm-action game. In one aspect of arhythm-action game, microphones are not tied to a particular part andtherefore any player can play any of a number of parts, e.g., melody orharmony, lead or rhythm, guitar or bass, without switching instruments.This is accomplished by displaying, on a display, a plurality of targetmusic data associated with a musical composition, receiving a musicperformance input data via the input device, determining which of theplurality of target music data has a degree of matching with the musicperformance input data, and assigning the music performance input datato the determined target music data.

Beneficially, there are various embodiments of the methods, systems,computer program products, and apparatuses of the aspect. For example,in some embodiments, a score is generated by the game platform based onthe degree of matching between the music performance input data and thetarget music data. In some embodiments, determining the degree ofmatching is based on a score assigned to the music performance inputdata with respect to the target music data. In other embodiments,determining the degree of matching is based on the music performanceinput data being within a tolerance threshold of the target music data.In still other embodiments, determining the degree of matching is basedon the proximity of a visual representation of the music performanceinput data to a visual cue associated with the target music data.Determining the degree of matching can also take other factors intoaccount. For example, determining the degree of matching can includeignoring an octave difference between the music performance input dataand the target music data. This is accomplished, in some versions, bydetermining a first number, e.g., such as a MIDI number corresponding tothe input (but the invention is not limited to MIDI), and determining asecond number, such as the MIDI number corresponding the target musicdata, i.e., to the expected input. Then, a modulo operation is performedon the first and second numbers to determine a difference between themusic performance data and the target music data. In someimplementations, the modulo operation involves determining anabove-number based on the first number that is within an octave abovethe second number. Then an above-difference between the above-number andthe second number is determined. A below-number based on the firstnumber that is within an octave below the second number is alsodetermined, as is a below-difference between the below-number and thesecond number. Finally the minimum of the above-difference and thebelow-difference is determined to provide the minimal pitch differencebetween the input and the expected input.

In some implementations, it is determined if the music performance inputdata is within a tolerance threshold of each of at least two targetmusic data of the plurality of target music data. In these scenarios,alternative approaches to determining the degree of matching areprovided based on the tolerance threshold. For example, determining thedegree of matching may include assigning a score to each of the at leasttwo target music data. Alternatively or additionally, determining thedegree of matching can be based on determining that the musicperformance input data is no longer within the tolerance threshold ofone of the at least two target music data.

An alternate embodiment instead displays a plurality of target musicdata associated with a musical composition on the display, similarlyreceives a music performance input data via an input device, but basesthe degree of matching solely on determining that the music performanceinput data is within a tolerance threshold of one of the plurality oftarget music data. If it is, the music performance input data isassigned to the determined target music data.

Various implementations allow for input from various sources and displaytarget music data accordingly. For example, in some versions, determinedtarget music data is a vocal part of the musical composition. Or,alternatively, the determined target music data can be an instrumentalpart of the musical composition, such as a guitar part, a keyboard part,a drum part, or a bass guitar part of the musical composition. Thesources for each input often correspond to the parts, e.g., for vocalparts, the input device is a microphone. Where the part is a guitarpart, a simulated guitar is used and so forth.

With dynamic part determination, often the music performance input datais assigned to only one of the plurality of target music data at a time.Similarly, each of the plurality of target music data can have only onemusic performance input data assigned to it at a time. For example,while the music performance input data is assigned to the determinedtarget music data, a second music performance input data would beprevented from being assigned to the determined target music data.

To prevent random assignments where the degree of matching is low withall target music data, one implementation involves displaying, on adisplay, a plurality of target music data associated with a musicalcomposition. A music performance input data is received via an inputdevice such as a microphone, and it is determined that none of theplurality of target music data has a degree of matching with the musicperformance input data. In this scenario, assignment of the musicperformance input data to any of the plurality of target music data isprevented until the music performance input data has a degree ofmatching with one of the plurality of target music data.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for biasing a musical performanceinput of a player of a rhythm-action game to a part in the game. In oneaspect this is accomplished by providing, by a game platform, a historyof a degree of matching between a prior music performance input data anda prior music data associated with a first part in a musicalcomposition. Then, on a display, a plurality of target music data, eachassociated with a respective part in the musical composition, isdisplayed, with one of the plurality being associated with the firstpart. Music performance input data is received by the game platform viaan input device, such as a microphone (although it could be a simulatedguitar, drum, keyboard, or other simulated instrument), and, based onthe history, the received music performance input is assigned to thetarget music data of the plurality that is associated with the firstpart.

Some implementations of the above methods, systems, computer programproducts, and apparatuses for biasing a musical performance input of aplayer of a rhythm-action game to a part in the game provide additionalor alternative functionality. For example, in some versions, it isfurther determined that the music performance input data is within atolerance threshold of each of at least two target music data of theplurality of target music data. Also, in some versions, the receivedmusic performance input data is compared to each of the plurality oftarget music data and a score is assigned to each comparison, e.g., onepart that the music performance data was not close to may have a lowscore whereas a different part that the music performance input data wasclose to may have a high score.

Several methodologies are provided for determining the history of thedegree of matching. For example, in some versions, the history of thedegree of matching is determined based on a score assigned to the priormusic performance input data with respect to the prior music data.Alternatively or additionally, the history of the degree of matching canbe determined based on if the prior music performance input data iswithin a tolerance threshold of the prior music data, or within atolerance threshold that overlaps with a second tolerance threshold. Or,in some cases, the history of the degree of matching is determined basedon the proximity of a visual representation of the prior musicperformance input data to a visual cue associated with the prior musicdata. In still other cases, the history is based on silence—that is, thehistory of the degree of matching is based on the prior musicperformance input data being silence when the prior music data indicatedno music performance input data should be received.

The history of the degree of matching is typically stored in memory,such as a memory buffer, and often multiple memory buffers are used, onefor each part or target music data. Often the information is stored fora limited time, such as ten seconds, but alternatively it can be storedsong to song or gaming session to gaming session, e.g., a particularplayer always tries to sing the melody.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for scoring a musical performanceafter a period of ambiguity in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect thisis accomplished by displaying, on a display in communication with a gameplatform, a first target music data and a second target music dataassociated with a musical composition. The first target music data has atolerance threshold that overlaps with a tolerance threshold of thesecond target music data. Then, a music performance input data isreceived via an input device, also in communication with the gameplatform. The game platform determines that the music performance inputdata is within the first target music data tolerance threshold andwithin the second target music data tolerance threshold. When thisoccurs, the game platform determines a first score based on a firstdegree of matching between the music performance input and the firsttarget music data and determines a second score based on a second degreeof matching between the music performance input and the second targetmusic data. The game platform then assigns the music performance inputdata to the first target music data or the second target music data,often to whichever has the higher score, when the difference between thefirst score and second score is greater than a predetermined value.

Advantageously, some implementations of the above methods, systems,computer program products, and apparatuses for scoring a musicalperformance after a period of ambiguity in a rhythm-action game provideadditional or alternative functionality. For example, in someimplementations, the music performance input data is assigned to thepart associated with the higher score. Also, in some versions, the firstand second degrees of matching are determined by comparing a pitchcomponent of the music performance input data to a pitch component ofthe respective first and second target music data.

In some embodiments, when the score that will be assigned is ambiguous,one of the scores, e.g., the first score, is displayed on the display.Once the assigned score is known, the assigned score, if it is not thefirst score, is displayed, and the first score ceases to be displayed.

In some versions of the above methods, systems, computer programproducts, and apparatuses, displays, on the display, at least a firsttarget music data and a second target music data associated with amusical composition, the first target music data having a tolerancethreshold that overlaps a tolerance threshold of the second target musicdata. A music performance input data is received via the input devicesuch as a microphone, etc, and it is determined that the musicperformance input data is within the first target music data tolerancethreshold and also within the second target music data tolerancethreshold. Then, the music performance input data is assigned to thefirst target music data when the first target music data tolerancethreshold and the second target music data tolerance threshold no longeroverlap. In these scenarios, a score, based on a degree of matchingbetween the music performance input data and the first target musicdata, is also typically assigned to the music performance input data.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for scoring a musical performanceinvolving multiple parts in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this isaccomplished by displaying, on a display in signal communication with agame platform, target musical data associated with a musicalcomposition. The game platform receives a first music performance inputdata, with the first music performance input data being associated witha first part in the musical composition. The game platform also receivesa second music performance input data, the second music performanceinput data associated with a second part in the musical composition. Thegame platform then calculates a first score based on the first musicperformance input data and a second score based on the second musicperformance input data. It then calculates a final or modified scorebased on the first score and the second score.

Some of the above methods, systems, computer program products, andapparatuses for scoring a musical performance involving multiple partsin a rhythm-action game provide additional or alternative functionality.For example, in some versions, selecting the first score involvesdetermining that the first score is higher than the second score.Alternatively, selecting the first score can involve determining thatthe first score has priority in being selected over the second score.With respect to modifying the score, in some implementations, modifyingthe preferred score includes increasing the preferred score by apercentage of the second score. Alternatively or additionally, modifyingthe preferred score can be based on a third score calculated based on adegree of matching between a third music performance input data and athird part. Additionally, the first and second parts can be associatedwith a musical player and a final score is assigned that is the modifiedpreferred score to the musical player.

Because microphones or instruments are not tied to parts, in some cases,the first music performance input data and the second music performanceinput data are received by the game platform from the same input device.In other cases, the first music performance input data and the secondmusic performance input data are received by the game platform fromdifferent input devices. Also, the first score can be associated with amelody of the musical composition and the second score is associatedwith a harmony of the musical composition, or vice versa.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for dynamically displaying a pitchrange in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this is accomplished by agame platform dividing a musical composition into a plurality ofportions each comprising one or more notes. The musical composition canbe divided into portions based on verses, phrases, a length of time, atleast a predetermined number of musical notes, or a combination thereof.Then the game platform determines a pitch range between a highest noteand a lowest note for each portion. Then the game platform determines adisplay density for each portion based on the pitch range of eachportion, or alternatively, a display density for the entire song basedon the greatest pitch range of all portions. Then, the game platformdisplays each portion within a viewable area. The viewable area has adensity that is alterable based on the portion to be displayed or aposition that is alterable based on the portion to be displayed, or hasboth an alterable position and alterable pitch density.

In some versions of the above methods, systems, computer programproducts, and apparatuses for dynamically displaying a pitch range in arhythm-action game, the center of the viewable area's position issubstantially equidistant between the lowest note and highest note ofthe portion. Beneficially, the position of the viewable area can bealtered before displaying a new portion such that the viewable areaappears to slide from the prior position to a position where the centerof the viewable area is substantially equidistant between the high noteof the new portion and the low note of the new portion. Alternatively,position of the viewable area can be altered before displaying a newportion such that the viewable area appears to slide from the priorposition to a position where the viewable area displays the highest noteof the new portion and the lowest note of the new portion.

For implementations with variable densities, the above implementationssometimes also include altering the density of the viewable area beforedisplaying a new portion such that the viewable area appears to zoom inbefore displaying the new portion. Or, in the alternative, altering thedensity of the viewable area before displaying a new portion such thatthe viewable area appears to zoom out before displaying the new portion.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for preventing an unintentionaldeploy of a bonus in a video game. In one aspect this is accomplished bydisplaying, on a display in communication with a game platform, a targetmusic data of a musical composition. The game platform receives a musicperformance input data via the microphone, and also determines if themusic performance input data has a predetermined degree of matching witha vocal cue. If so, the performance input data is prevented fromexecuting an improvisation deploy.

In some versions of the above methods, systems, computer programproducts, and apparatuses for preventing an unintentional deploy of abonus in a video game, it is further determined that an improvisationdeploy value exceeds a predetermined threshold. In some of theembodiments, it is determined that the music performance input data isat least a predetermined volume for a predetermined duration. In someimplementations though, the music performance input data may satisfy thepredetermined volume for a predetermined duration, but yet not counttowards a threshold input that executes the improvisation deploy becausethe music performance input has a degree of matching with the targetmusic data. Some embodiments further involve, receiving a second musicperformance input data via a second microphone; and executing theimprovisation deploy if the second music performance input data does nothave a predetermined degree of matching with the first target musicdata.

Alternatively, there are implementations that display, on the display, afirst target music data of a musical composition and receive a firstperformance input data via the microphone. Then, the implementationdetermines if the first performance input data has a predetermineddegree of matching with the first vocal cue, and prevents the firstperformance input from executing an improvisation deploy if the firstperformance input is within a tolerance threshold of the first targetmusic data.

In any of the scenarios above involving preventing an unintentionaldeploy of a bonus in a video game, the first target music data can be amelody target music data or part and the second target music data is aharmony target music data or part. Alternatively, the first target musicdata can be a harmony target music data or part and the second targetmusic data can be a melody target music data or part. Furthermore, someversions determine if the first performance input is associated with thefirst vocal cue by determining if a pitch component of the firstperformance input has a degree of matching with the first vocal cue.Some versions, however, determine if the first performance input isassociated with the first vocal cue by determining if the first inputmatches the first vocal cue within a tolerance threshold of the firstvocal cue.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for displaying song lyrics and vocalcues in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this is accomplished bydisplaying, on a display in communication with a game platform, a vocalcue. The vocal cue moves on the display in synchronization with a timingcomponent of a musical composition towards a target marker. Lyrics arealso displayed, but instead of moving with the movement of the vocal cuethe lyrics are displayed in a fixed position. The lyrics maintain theirposition until the vocal cue has moved to a particular position withrespect to the target marker.

In some versions of the above methods, systems, computer programproducts, and apparatuses for displaying song lyrics and vocal cues in arhythm-action game, the particular position is the first vocal cue isaligned with a vertical plane of the target marker. Moving, in someversions, includes altering the horizontal position of the vocal cuefrom the right side of the display, through a vertical plane of thetarget marker, to the right of the display. The particular position thatthe vocal cues moves to, which is what triggers the release of the lyricfrom the fixed position, in some cases is the to the left of thevertical plane of the target marker or directly on top of it.Additionally, some implementations further involve displaying a secondvocal cue associated with the first vocal cue, the second vocal cuemoving through a plane of the target marker; and displaying, on thedisplay, a second lyric.

In any of the above examples for displaying song lyrics and vocal cuesin a rhythm-action game, the coloration of the lyric can be altereddepending on the position of the vocal cue. For example, the lyric canbe highlighted if the vocal cue is aligned with a vertical plane of thetarget marker, or de-highlighted if the vocal cue is past the verticalplane of the target marker, or appear deactivated before the vocal cuereaches the target marker (i.e., the vocal cue is located to the rightof the target marker).

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means, for providing a practice mode formultiple musical parts in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this isaccomplished by displaying, on a display in communication with a gameplatform, a first and second target musical data associated with amusical composition. The game platform receives a selection by the userof the first target musical data to be performed and produces an audiooutput associated with the first and second target musical data. Thegame platform also produces a synthesized tone associated with the firsttarget musical data. In some versions, the target music data that is notselected is dimmed and made less visible.

The implementations above of the practice mode may also includereceiving music performance input data and scoring the music performanceinput data with respect to only the first target musical data.Additionally, some embodiments of the practice mode produce synthesizedtone at a volume louder than the audio associated with the first andsecond target musical data. The first target musical data can be themelody and the second target music data can be the harmony or viceversa.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for selectively displaying songlyrics in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this is accomplished bydetermining a number of vocal cues to be displayed on a display incommunication with a game platform, where the vocal cues are eachassociated with a lyric. Provided a number of areas available to displaya set of lyrics, either before run-time or determined at run-time, thegame platform determines, based on a lyric priority associated with eachlyric, which of the lyrics associated with each vocal cue to displaywhen the number of vocal cues exceeds the number of areas available.

The methods, systems, computer program products, and apparatuses forselectively displaying song lyrics include also allow for variations.For example, in some versions, one of the vocal cues and an associatedlyric are associated with a lead vocal part in a musical composition.Alternatively, the vocal cues can be a plurality of the vocal cues, andthe plurality and their corresponding lyrics are associated with aplurality of harmony vocal parts in the musical composition. In someembodiments, the lyric priority of each of the plurality of lyrics ispredetermined. In other embodiments, the lyric priority of each of theplurality of lyrics is assigned randomly. In some implementations, thenumber of areas available to display the set of lyrics is predeterminedbefore execution of the computerized method. In other implementations,the number of areas available to display the set of lyrics is determinedat rum-time.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for displaying an input at multipleoctaves in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this is accomplished byreceiving by a game platform via a microphone, a music performance inputdata and displaying, on a display in communication with the gameplatform, a first pitch marker reflective of the music performance inputdata. Then substantially simultaneously with the display of the firstpitch marker, displaying a second pitch marker at an offset, typicallyvertical, from the first pitch marker, the offset indicative of anoctave difference between the first pitch marker and the second pitchmarker. In some versions, the second pitch marker is indicative of anoctave above the first pitch marker; in others the second pitch markeris indicative of an octave below the first pitch marker. As above, avocal cue is displayed that includes a pitch component. Then a firstscore is calculated for the first pitch marker based on a comparisonbetween the first pitch marker and the pitch component of the vocal cueand a second score is calculated for the second pitch marker based on acomparison between the second pitch marker and the pitch component ofthe vocal cue. In some implementations, the second pitch marker isdisplayed only if the music performance input data has a degree ofmatching with a target music data when the octave of the musicperformance input data is not used to determine the degree of matching.In some of these implementations, the degree of matching is based on atolerance threshold.

In another aspect, there are methods, systems with an apparatusconfigured to perform particular functions, computer program products,and apparatuses that provide means for displaying a harmonicallyrelevant pitch guide in a rhythm-action game. In one aspect this isaccomplished by analyzing, by a game platform, target music dataassociated with a musical composition to determine a musical scalewithin the target music data. Then a bounded space, such as a lane todisplay vocal cues in, is displayed that includes a plurality ofinterval demarcations based on the scale, and a background comprising acolor scheme based on preselected pitches of the scale. Then the gameplatform displays the target music data in a manner indicative of theharmonically relevant pitches with respect to the pitch guide.

In some versions of the above methods, systems, computer programproducts, and apparatuses for displaying a harmonically relevant pitchguide, the preselected pitches are harmonically relevant. Specifically,in some embodiments, the preselected pitches of the scale are the root,3rd, and fifth pitches of the scale. In some implementations, anuppermost pitch and a lowermost pitch of the target music data isdetermined. Then the lane's upper bound is based on the uppermost pitchof the target music data and its lower bound based on the lowermostpitch of the target music data. Additionally or alternatively, the colorscheme can include a first color for intervals not matching thepreselected pitches and a second color for intervals that do match thepreselected pitches, or the color scheme can include shading thebackground according to the preselected pitches, such as being shadedwith a first color for harmonically relevant pitches and shaded a secondcolor for pitches that are not harmonically relevant.

Advantageously, for any of the aspects above, a pitch arrow can beassociated with the music performance input data to indicate how theplayer is performing. Specifically, the pitch arrow points up if themusic performance input data is flat compared to the assigned targetmusic data and the pitch arrow points down if the music performanceinput data is sharp compared to the assigned target music data.Alternatively or additionally, the pitch arrow points towards theassigned target music data and the arrow is positioned above the targetmusic data if the music performance input data is sharp compared to theassigned target music data or the arrow is positioned below the targetmusic data if the music performance input data is flat compared to theassigned target music data.

Beneficially, in some implementations where a music performance input isassigned to a part, target music data, or is scored, doing so may altera visual property of the part, the target music data associated with thepart, the arrow associated with the music performance input, or any ofthese. For example, the target music data (part, arrow, etc.) may glowor flash. Alternatively assignment or scoring may alter an audioproperty of the game such as causing a crowd to cheer or to make thereceived performance input data or audio associated with the targetmusic data become louder or have a distortion effect applied to it.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, illustrating the principles of theinvention by way of example only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention, as well as the invention itself, will be more fullyunderstood from the following description of various embodiments, whenread together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a diagram depicting a game platform and various components insignal and/or electrical communication with the game platform;

FIG. 1B is a diagram depicting various components and modules of a gameplatform;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary screenshot of one embodiment of a multiplayerrhythm-action game where multiple vocal parts are displayed and multiplevocal inputs are received;

FIG. 3A depicts an example of a player's input compared to vocal cues oftwo vocal parts;

FIG. 3B depicts relationships between the distance an input pitch isfrom the center of a note tube and the corresponding degree of matchingused in some implementations of the invention;

FIG. 3C depicts a scenario where two vocal parts converge and the partbeing sung becomes ambiguous;

FIG. 3D depicts a scenario where two parts, a melody and harmony,overlap;

FIG. 3E depicts a block diagram outlining some procedures the inventionexecutes on the game platform 100 to assign a part;

FIG. 4A depicts an exemplary screenshot where part assignment based onbiasing may be incorrect and scoring is retroactively reassigned;

FIG. 4B depicts procedures executed by the invention during a partambiguity;

FIG. 5 depicts scoring the performance of different parts;

FIG. 6A depicts two embodiments that display different pitch ranges;

FIG. 6B depicts a shiftable display window and display that utilizes adynamic zoom;

FIGS. 6C and 6D depict embodiments that display dynamic pitch displayfor instruments;

FIG. 7 shows a vocal performance where the player's input is displayedat both the pitch input and the pitch modulo octave to another part;

FIG. 8 depicts a practice mode where unselected parts are made lessvisible and are not scored;

FIG. 9 displays two visual modes for displaying target music data andlyrics in the game;

FIG. 10 depicts determining which lyrics to display when there are morevocal cues displayed than there is space available for the vocal cue'sassociated lyrics; and

FIG. 11 depicts a screenshot of a scenario where a deployable bonus isavailable at different times to the person singing lead vocals and tothe person singing melody vocals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Architecture

FIG. 1A is a diagram depicting a game platform 100 for running gamesoftware and various components in signal communication with the gameplatform. Each player may use a game platform 100 in order toparticipate in the game. In one embodiment, the game platform 100 is adedicated game console, such as: PLAYSTATION® 2, PLAYSTATION® 3, or PSP®manufactured by Sony Corporation; WII™, NINTENDO DS®, NINTENDO DSi™, orNINTENDO DS LITE™ manufactured by Nintendo Corp.; or XBOX® or XBOX 360®manufactured by Microsoft Corp. In other embodiments, the game platform100 comprises a personal computer, personal digital assistant, orcellular telephone. Throughout the specification and claims, wherereference is made to “the game platform 100” performing a function,“game platform 100” may, for some implementations, be read as “gameplatform 100 with game software executing on it.” References to the gameplatform 100 and omission of reference to the game software does notimply absence of the game software. Game software alone may also embodythe invention, e.g., a computer program product, tangibly embodied in acomputer-readable storage medium, while in some embodiments theinvention is implemented purely in hardware such as a computer processorconfigured to perform specific functions. In other embodiments theinvention is embodied by a combination of hardware and software.

The game platform 100 is typically in electrical and/or signalcommunication with a display 105. This may be a television, an LCDmonitor, projector, or the like. The game platform is also typically inelectrical or signal communication with one or more controllers or inputdevices. In FIG. 1, the game platform 100 is in signal communicationwith a first microphone 110 a, a second microphone 110 b (microphones,collectively, 110), a first simulated guitar controller 115 a and asecond simulated guitar controller 115 b (guitar controllers,collectively, 115). Other inputs can be other simulated instruments suchas keyboards and drums (not shown), standard controllers for therespective game platforms, and/or keyboards and/or mice (also notshown). Microphones, controllers, etc. may be connected via a physicalwire, e.g., via a USB connection, or may be connected wirelessly, e.g.,via Bluetooth, FM, a proprietary wireless protocol used by the MicrosoftXbox 360 game console, or other wireless signaling protocols.

Though reference is made to the game platform 100 generally, the gameplatform, in some embodiments such as that depicted in FIG. 1B, containshardware and/or software that perform general or specific tasks, such asa central processing unit 120, an instrument analysis module 125, asinging analysis module 130, a sound processing module 135 that providessound output, e.g., to a speaker, a storage device 140, Random AccessMemory 145, Read Only Memory 150, peripheral interfaces 155, networkinginterface 160, media interfaces 163 (e.g., a CD-ROM, DVD, or Blu-Raydrive or SD, Compact Flash, or other memory format interfaces), graphicprocessors 165 and others. Each module may also contain sub-modules. Forexample the singing analysis module 130 may contain a data extractormodule 170, a digital signal processor module 175, a comparison module180, and a performance evaluation module 185. Alternatively, in softwareimplementations of the modules, modules or combinations of modules mayreside within the RAM 145 or ROM 150 (and/or be loaded into these frommedia via the media interface 163 or from storage 160) for execution bythe central processing unit 120.

Prior art versions of some of these modules are found in U.S. Pat. No.7,164,076 as they relate to processing vocal input. The data extractormodule 170 extracts pitch data and timestamps stored in song datarecords, which may be stored in storage 140, RAM 145, ROM, 150, onmemory card or disc media in communication with the game platform 100,or accessible via a network connection. The digital signal processormodule 175 extracts pitch frequency data from the digital data streamusing known pitch extraction techniques. In some embodiments, atime-based autocorrelation filter is used to determine the inputsignal's periodicity. The periodicity is then refined to include afractional periodicity component. This period is converted intofrequency data, which is then converted into a semitone value or indexusing known conversion techniques. The semitone value may be similar toa MIDI note number, but may have both integer and fractional components(e.g., 50.3). While the pitch data is typically represented bysemitones, pitch data can be converted into any desired units (e.g.,Hertz) for comparison with the sampled pitch data from a microphoneinput.

The comparison module 180 compares the timestamps of data records withthe sample time associated with the pitch sample. The comparison module180 selects a data record from a number of data records stored in abuffer that has a timestamp that most closely matches the sample time,then compares the pitch value stored in that data record (i.e., correctpitch) with the pitch sample associated with sample time. In someembodiments, the comparison includes determining the absolute value ofthe difference between the correct pitch value and the sample pitchdata. The performance evaluation module 185 takes the results of thecomparison module 180 and generates performance evaluation data based onthe pitch error and other settings, e.g., the difficulty chosen by theplayer. This information includes a tolerance threshold, which can becompared against the pitch error to determine a performance rating. Ifthe pitch error falls within the tolerance threshold, then a “hit” willbe recorded, and if the pitch error falls outside the tolerancethreshold, then a “miss” will be recorded. The hit/miss information isthen used to compute a score and to drive or trigger the variousperformance feedback mechanisms described herein (e.g., pitch arrow,performance meter, crowd meter, etc.). Though pitch extraction anddetermining a hit or miss for one part are known, the modules, theirfunctions and programming are improved by the present invention andprovide new functionality described herein.

In some embodiments, execution of game software limits the game platform100 to a particular purpose, e.g., playing the particular game. In thesescenarios, the game platform 100 combined with the software, in effect,becomes a particular machine while the software is executing. In someembodiments, though other tasks may be performed while the software isrunning, execution of the software still limits the game platform 100and may negatively impact performance of the other tasks. While the gamesoftware is executing, the game platform directs output related to theexecution of the game software to the display 105, thereby controllingthe operation of the display. The game platform 100 also can receiveinputs provided by one or more players, perform operations andcalculations on those inputs, and direct the display to depict arepresentation of the inputs received and other data such as resultsfrom the operations and calculations, thereby transforming the inputreceived from the players into a visual representation of the inputand/or the visual representation of an effect caused by the player. FIG.2 provides some examples of data depicted on the display 105.

Game Interface

FIG. 2 is an exemplary screenshot of one embodiment of a multiplayerrhythm-action game where multiple vocal parts are displayed via an inputinterface 200 and multiple vocal inputs are received. In FIG. 2, thevocal parts depicted represent a lead vocal part and two harmony vocalparts, though whether a part is designated a melody part or a harmonypart is not mandated. In some embodiments, no musical distinction ismade by the game platform 100 between parts, e.g., no distinctionbetween melody and harmony; instead, the game presents all parts assimply different parts.

While FIG. 2 depicts primarily vocal performances, players can alsoprovide input via instruments 115 and/or game controllers, for example,a player can both sing and play a simulated guitar, keyboard, drums, orother instrument and the input is handled by the respective singinganalysis module 130 or instrument analysis module 125. Beneficially,additional players, e.g., fourth and fifth players (or more), may jointhe game as keyboard players, playing other instruments, and/or provideadditional vocal inputs. Input provided via an instrument or microphoneis not necessarily tied to a particular human player. For example, inthe game there can be one vocal “instrument” or musical “player” thatrepresents vocal input, and correspondingly one avatar representingsinging input, but vocal input can actually come from one, two, or anynumber of microphones connected to the game platform, allowing multiplereal-world players to contribute to the one vocal “player” in the game.

One or more of the players of the game may be represented on screen byan avatar 205 a, 205 b, 205 c (collectively 205), rendered by thegraphics processor 165. In some embodiments, an avatar 205 may be a,computer-generated image. In other embodiments, an avatar 205 may be adigital image, such as a video capture of a person. An avatar 205 may bemodeled on a famous figure or, in some embodiments, the avatar may bemodeled on the game player associated with the avatar. In cases whereadditional players enter the game, the screen may be altered to displayan additional avatar 205 and/or music interface for each player.

In FIG. 2, an input interface 200 is displayed as a bounded space, i.e.,a “lane” is used to display vocal cues and received vocal inputs. Thelane 200 has an area for displaying a first set of lyrics 210, an areafor displaying a second set of lyrics 215, and an area between thelyrical areas for displaying “vocal cues” 220 a, 220 b, 220 c(collectively 220). During gameplay, the cues 220, also referred to as“musical targets”, “target music data” or note tubes, appear to flowtoward a target marker 225, also called a Now Bar. Understandably, theNow Bar 225 represents what the player should be inputting at aparticular moment, i.e., now. In some embodiments, the cues 220 flowfrom right to left. In other embodiments it is left to right. In otherembodiments, the cues 220 appear to be flowing from the “back” of thescreen towards a player as if in a three-dimensional space, on a spatialpath that does not lie within the image plane.

The cues 220 are distributed in the lane 200 in a manner having somerelationship to musical content associated with the song being audiblyplayed. For example, the cues 220 may represent pitch (cues displayedtowards the bottom of the lane represent notes having a lower pitch andcues towards the top of the lane, e.g., 220 c represent notes having ahigher pitch), volume (cues may glow more brightly for louder tones),duration (cues may be “stretched” to represent that a note or tone issustained), note information (cues spaced more closely together forshorter notes and further apart for longer notes), articulation, timbreor any other time-varying aspects of the musical content. The cues 220may be tubes, cylinders, circlers, or any geometric shape and may haveother visual characteristics, such as transparency, color, or variablebrightness.

As the cues 220 move through the lane and intersect the Now Bar 225, theplayer is expected to sing the musical data represented by the vocalcues. To assist the player, in some embodiments the music datarepresented by the note tubes 220 may be substantially simultaneouslyreproduced as audible music or tones. For example, during regular playor during a practice mode, to assist a player with a particular part,the pitch that the player is expected to sing is audibly reproduced,thereby assisting the player by allowing them to hear a pitch to match.

In certain embodiments, successfully performing the musical contenttriggers or controls the animations of avatars 205. Additionally, thevisual appearance of interface elements, e.g., the cues 220, may also bemodified based on the player's proficiency with the game. For example,failure to execute a game event properly may cause game interfaceelements 220 to appear more dimly. Alternatively, successfully executinggame events may cause game interface elements 220 to glow more brightly.Similarly, the player's failure to execute game events may cause theirassociated avatar 205 to appear embarrassed or dejected, whilesuccessful performance of game events may cause their associated avatarto appear happy and confident. In other embodiments, successfullyexecuting cues 220 in the lane 200 causes the avatar 205 associated withthat performance to appear to sing in a particular manner. For example,where the singer is on key for a sustained period, the avatar 205 mayappear to “belt out” the vocal part. In some embodiments, when two ormore parts are being successfully sung, e.g., human players are singingthe same or different vocal parts and the players are both on key fortheir respective parts (or the same part), avatars 205 will visually bedepicted standing closer together or leaning into each other andsinging. In some embodiments the avatars 205 will be depicted sharing amicrophone on stage. Successful execution of a number of successive cues220 may cause the corresponding avatar 205 to execute a “flourish,” suchas kicking their leg, pumping their fist, winking at the crowd, spinningaround, or if the avatar is depicted with an instrument, performing aguitar “windmill,” throwing drum sticks, or the like.

Player interaction with a cue 220 may be required in a number ofdifferent ways. In one embodiment, there is one vocal “player” for thegame, i.e., vocal input from any number of different microphones arerepresented as one member of the group, or by one avatar 205, eventhough many real-world players may provide vocal input. For example, inone scenario, a real-world player can choose a microphone 110 a as theirinstrument from an instrument selection screen. When gameplay starts,the game platform detects, in some cases via peripheral interfaces 155,that multiple microphones are in electrical and/or signal communicationwith the game platform (e.g., plugged into the game platform orconnected wirelessly). When a vocal cue 220 is displayed to the players,not only can the person that chose the microphone 110 a at theinstrument selection screen sing and provide vocal input, but so cananyone else singing into a microphone 110 b that is in signalcommunication with the game platform 100. Any singing input into theother microphones 110 b provided by real-world players can be treated ascoming from the person that chose the microphone 110 a, as additionalinput, or as complementary input to the person that chose the microphone110 a. In some implementations, additional or complementary inputprovides a bonus score to the person that selected the microphone. Thus,several real-world people singing can be treated, along with the personthat chose microphone, as one “player” or one “instrument” in the game.

Beneficially, no one player singing into a microphone 110 is necessarilytied to a vocal part, e.g., a melody or harmony part. In a multi-vocalpart game, e.g., one that allows players to sing melody and harmonyparts simultaneously, the player that chose the microphone 110 a cansing a harmony part while another player that has a microphone 110 b cansing a melody part, or vice versa, or the two can switch dynamicallyduring gameplay, even during a single phrase. Not tying players toparticular parts is applicable to other instruments as well, e.g.,guitars 115, and not limited to vocal input. For example, in a gamewhere there are multiple guitar parts, e.g., lead guitar and rhythmguitar, two players each playing a simulated guitar 115 a, 115 b canplay with one player performing the lead guitar part, the other playingthe rhythm guitar part, or vice versa, or they can switch which partthey are each playing dynamically during the game, even within a phrase.Similarly, where there are two or more keyboard parts displayed, two ormore players with simulated keyboards (not shown) can each playdifferent parts, e.g., parts played on the higher keys on the keyboard,in the middle of the keyboard, or parts involving the lower keys.Additionally or alternatively, combinations of parts can be played by asingle player and additional players can play additional parts, e.g.,one person plays high and middle key parts and the other plays lowparts, or one person could perform high and low while another performsmiddle parts, or other combinations.

Referring back to vocal input, player interaction with a cue 220 maycomprise singing a pitch and or a lyric associated with a cue 220. Inone aspect, multiple vocal parts 220 a, 220 b, 220 c are displayedsubstantially simultaneously in the same lane 200, with different vocalparts depicted using different colors. Additionally or alternatively,pitch indicators 230 a, 230 b, 230 c (collectively 230) assigned to eachmicrophone in communication with the game platform 100 have a particularshape, e.g., triangle, circle, square, or various stylized arrows, orother shapes. In some embodiments the pitch markers assigned to eachmicrophone have a distinctive coloring or shaping allowing players todistinguish between them.

As an example, in FIG. 2, three stylized arrows 230 depict the receivedinput from each of microphone 110 a, 110 b, and a third microphone (notshown) in communication with the game platform 100. Though one to threevocal parts are displayed and explained herein, the system and game canprocess, score, and display any number of vocal parts and/or inputs. Forexample, a first microphone's 110 a input is reflected by a spade-shapedmarker 230 a, a second microphone's 110 b input is represented by anelongated, cross-shaped arrow 230 b, and the third microphone's input isrepresented by an arrow resembling a stylized pointer 230 c.Additionally, each vocal part is displayed using different color. Forexample, in some implementations, the tubes 220 a for a lead or mainvocal part are displayed in blue, the tubes 220 b for a first harmonypart are displayed in brown, and the tubes 220 c for a second harmonypart are displayed in orange. In FIG. 2, the received pitch input fromthe first microphone 110 a matches the pitch of the main vocal tube 220a. The received pitch input from the second microphone 110 b matches thepitch of the first harmony vocal part tube 220 b and the received pitchinput from the third microphone (not shown) matches the pitch of thesecond harmony part tube 220 c. Notably, none of the microphones 110,however, are permanently tied to any of the tubes 220 or parts; theinput from the microphones 110 can dynamically switch during gameplaydepending on various factors such as how closely the input matches aparticular tube 220 or if the input from that microphone wassuccessfully singing other tubes from that part, and other factors.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the arrows 230 provide the players withvisual feedback regarding the pitch of the note that is currently beingsung. If the arrow 230 is above the note tube 220, the arrow 230 pointsdown towards the tube 220 and the player needs to lower the pitch of thenote being sung. Similarly, if the arrow 230 is below the note tube, thearrow points up to the tube 220 and the player needs to raise the pitchof the note being sung. However, as discussed herein, becausemicrophones 110 are not forced to a particular vocal part 220, anyplayer can actually be singing any of these parts, e.g., the inputrepresented by 230 a for the first player could be attempting to signthe first harmony vocal tube 220 b and the player could just be off key.Beneficially, in some embodiments, all three players can all sing any ofthe parts together, e.g., all three players can sing the first harmonyline, without any risk of failing the game because the other parts arenot sung. In some implementations, however, only one input is assignedto any given part and even though three players may be attempting tosing the same part, only one of them gets credit for successfullyperforming it.

In addition to multiple vocal cues, multiple sets of lyrics can be sung.Still referring to FIG. 2, the first set of lyrics 210, displayed at thebottom of the lane 200 in this embodiment, represents lyrics associatedwith a first vocal part 220 a, such as the main or lead vocals in thesong. The second set of lyrics 215, displayed at the top of the lane 200in this embodiment, is associated with a second vocal part 220 b, suchas the harmony vocals. Though the lyrics depicted in FIG. 2 are the samefor both parts, depending on the song, the harmony part 220 b may havelyrics when the main part 220 a does not and vice versa, or there may bemultiple sets of lyrics, e.g., a lead and two sets of harmony lyrics. Insome embodiments, there may be more parts (with associated lyrics) thanthere are display lanes for the lyrics. In the embodiment depicted inFIG. 2, there are three vocal parts, but only a means for displaying twosets of lyrics. In this type of situation, each set of lyrics isassigned a priority value by the game platform. The priority can beassigned by the game manufacturer when making the game, it can beassigned dynamically at runtime, or the game platform 100 can chooserandomly. When displaying the lyrics, the game platform 100 determinesthe priority for each set of lyrics and displays the two sets of lyricswith the highest priority. In cases where two lyrics are assigned thesame priority, the game platform 100 may chose one of the lyric setsrandomly, or may choose from a preferred order, e.g., if there are twoharmony parts, designated harmony part 1 and harmony part 2, and bothhave the same priority, the game platform 100 may always choose thelyrics for harmony part 1.

Still referring to FIG. 2, an indicator 235 of the performance of thesinging players on a single performance meter 237 is shown. Whereplayers are additionally or alternatively performing with instruments,each instrument is represented by an icon. In the figure shown, themulti-microphone icon 235 is a circle with graphics indicating theinstrument the icon corresponds to, i.e., a multi-microphone icon isdepicted representing the performance of the group singing multiplevocal parts. Where there is only one microphone 110 a plugged in, oronly one player providing vocal input, only one microphone is displayedin the icon 235. When two microphones 110 a, 110 b are plugged in, twomicrophones are depicted in the icon 235, and so forth. The position ofa player's icon 235 on the meter 237 indicates a current level ofperformance for the “player.” A colored bar on the meter 237 mayindicate the performance of the band as a whole. Although the meter 237shown displays the performance of one “player,” i.e., a multi-micembodiment with many singing players treated as one player, in otherembodiments, any number of players or bands may be displayed on themeter 237, including two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, orten players, and any number of bands.

Also in FIG. 2, phrase performance meters 240 a, 240 b, 240 c(collectively 240) are displayed for each vocal part, reflecting howmuch of the particular vocal part has been completed or sung correctlyfor that phrase. As note tubes 220 are sung correctly for a particularvocal part, the corresponding phrase performance 240 meter fills up. Insome embodiments, multiple players can contribute to filling the phrasemeter for a particular vocal part. For example, a first person may singthe main vocal line 220 a correctly for the first half of the phrase andfill the corresponding phrase performance meter 240 a halfway. Then, asecond player performs the main vocals 220 a correctly for the secondhalf of the phrase, thereby completely filling the phrase performancemeter 240 a for the main vocals. In some embodiments, two players cansimultaneously perform the same part and each contributes to filling thephrase performance meter 240 for that part. For example, the first andsecond players each sing the main vocal part 220 correctly for the firsthalf of the phrase and neither sings for the second half of the phrase.Because the first player sang correctly for the first half of thephrase, the performance meter 240 a is filled half way. And because thesecond player also performed correctly for the first half, i.e., alsoperformed half of the phrase correctly, the rest of the phraseperformance meter 240 a is filled. In other embodiments, even if twoplayers are singing the same part, e.g., 220 a, the corresponding phraseperformance meter 240 a is filled based on only one of the performancesbecause only one input is counted per part. In other embodiments, theperformance of one player, e.g., the first player, is used to fill themeter 240 a and additional performances, e.g., by the second player,fill the phrase performance meter 240 a only incrementally. In stillother embodiments, if two players are attempting to sing the same part,e.g., melody, and another part's cue, e.g., a harmony part, is close,one player will be assigned to the part both are trying to sing (melody)and the other player will be automatically assigned to the nearby part(harmony).

In some embodiments, a separate performance meter (not shown) may bedisplayed for each player. This separate performance meter may comprisea simplified indication of how well the player is doing. In oneembodiment, the separate performance meter may comprise an icon whichindicates whether a player is doing great, well, or poorly. For example,the icon for “great” may comprise a word such as “Fab” being displayed,“good” may be a thumbs up, and “poor” may be a thumbs down. In otherembodiments, a player's lane may flash or change color to indicate goodor poor performance.

Still referring to FIG. 2, a bonus meter 245 may be displayed indicatingan amount of stored bonus. The meter may be displayed graphically in anymanner, including a bar, pie, graph, or number. Bonuses may beaccumulated in any manner including, without limitation, by playing orsinging specially designated musical phrases, hitting a certain numberof consecutive notes, or by maintaining a given percentage of correctnotes. In some embodiments, players may contribute to a group bonusmeter, where each player successfully performing their part adds to thebonus meter.

In some embodiments, if a given amount of bonuses are accumulated, aplayer may activate the bonus to trigger an in-game effect. An in-gameeffect may comprise a graphical display change including, withoutlimitation, an increase or change in crowd animation, avatar animation,performance of a special trick by the avatar, lighting change, settingchange, or change to the display of the lane of the player. An in-gameeffect may also comprise an aural effect, an increase in volume, or acrowd cheer, and/or an explosion or other aural signifier that the bonushas been activated. In embodiments where instruments are used, an effectcould be a guitar modulation, feedback, distortion, screech, flange,wah-wah, echo, or reverb. An in-game effect may also comprise a scoreeffect, such as a score multiplier or bonus score addition. In someembodiments, the in-game effect may last a predetermined amount of timefor a given bonus activation. In some implementations, the singer maytrigger or deploy the bonus by providing any manner of vocal input,e.g., percussion sounds such as tapping the microphone, speaking,screaming, wailing, growling, etc. This triggering or deployment is alsocalled an “improvisation deploy.”

In some embodiments, bonuses may be accumulated and/or deployed in acontinuous manner. In other embodiments, bonuses may be accumulatedand/or deployed in a discrete manner. For example, instead of thecontinuous bar 245 shown in FIG. 2, a bonus meter may comprise a numberof “lights” each of which corresponds to a single bonus earned. A playermay then deploy the bonuses one at a time. In some embodiments, where agroup bonus is accumulated, any of the players may activate or deploythe bonus. In some implementations, there are only certain periodsduring a musical composition that a bonus can be deployed, such as areasof the song where there are no lyrics or no assigned parts. In otherembodiments, e.g., for instrumental parts, the deployable sections maybe when the instrument has a solo, such as a drum fill for drum parts ora guitar solo for guitar parts. Alternatively, the bonus can be deployedby tilting or shaking an instrument or microphone. The improvisationdeploy may be available at different times per part for a giveninstrument or microphone. For example, in one embodiment the melody partmay prompt the player to sing while a harmony part does not have anyvocal cues to present to the player. During the period of silence forthe harmony, the bonus may be deployed. Then, for example, in the nextbar where the harmony part is supposed to be sung and the melody part issilent, the ability to deploy the bonus may be available for melodypart. In some embodiments, if an input is close to a particular notetube or assigned to a part, the input is prevented from activating thebonus to avoid accidentally triggering it by not counting the inputtowards the input required to deploy a bonus. Typically an area for aplayer to deploy a bonus is indicated visually by displaying colorfulpatterns or swirls to the players (see, e.g., 1100 and 1105 of FIG. 11).

FIG. 2 also depicts a score multiplier indicator 250. A score multiplierindicator 250 may comprise any graphical indication of a scoremultiplier currently in effect for a player, e.g., 4×. In someembodiments, a score multiplier may be raised by correctly singing aparticular vocal part or hitting a number of consecutive note tubes. Inother embodiments, the score multiplier may be raised by perfectlysinging a certain number of phrases in a row, thereby creating a streakof well-sung phrases. In other embodiments, a score multiplier may becalculated by averaging score multipliers achieved by individual membersof a band or individual people singing. For example, a score multiplierindicator 250 may comprise a disk that is filled with progressively morepie slices as a player hits a number of notes in a row. Once the playerhas filled the disk, the player's multiplier may be increased, and thedisk may be cleared.

Dynamic Musical Part Determination

One feature of the game is that input received from a simulatedinstrument, e.g., 115, or microphone, e.g., 110, is not forciblyassociated with a particular part for that instrument or microphone forthe duration of a song. Specifically, players providing input candynamically switch between melody and harmony parts, or lead and rhythmparts, different percussion parts where two or more drums are present,or, in the case of simulated guitars, even guitar parts and bass guitarparts, during gameplay. Though examples herein typically refer tomicrophones, vocal input, and vocal parts, the technology is applicableto guitars, bass guitars, drums, keyboards, and other simulatedinstruments as well. Furthermore, references to melody and harmony arenot limiting; rather, in discussing two or more parts, the game canpresent any two or more parts to the players, e.g., two harmony partsand no melody, or two or more parts in general that are not designatedas melody or harmony.

Using singing as an example, contrary to prior art games where a personchooses that they want to sing lead vocals or backup vocals at thebeginning of a song, and are forced to remain with that selection forthe duration of the song, in the in present invention, microphones 110are not tied to a particular part. For example, a player can sing melodyvocals and then, during the song, begin singing harmony vocals with noadditional input to the game (e.g., the player does not need to pausethe game, press a button, or manipulate a menu to switch parts).Instead, one aspect of the present invention dynamically determineswhich part a player is singing and associates input from that microphone110 with that part “on the fly.” As an example, in FIG. 2, multipleparts are be displayed on the display 105, each with its own respectivevocal cue 220 a, 220 b, 220 c (or target music data) indicating thepitch the player is supposed to input (the height of the cue in the lane200) and for how long (represented by the vocal cue's horizontallength). When a player sings into a microphone 110, the game platform100 receives the input via the microphone and processes the input. Thegame platform 100 determines, e.g., via the singing analysis module 130,which of the parts the player is trying to sing based on a degree ofmatching between the input and each part. When the game platform 100determines that the user is singing a different part, e.g., the playerwas singing the melody and is now singing the harmony, the game platformdetects this change and associates the input with the harmony part.

FIG. 3A depicts an example of a player's input compared to vocal cues oftwo vocal parts, in this example, a cue 300 associated with the melodypart and a cue 305 associated with the harmony part. “Parts” arerepresented throughout the musical composition by a series of vocal cuesdisplayed to the players. In FIG. 3A, the player's input is represented,over time (t₀-t₃), by line 310. Since various players have varioussinging abilities, each cue, 300, 305 has a pitch tolerance threshold(typically not displayed to the player). The player's input is supposedto be within this tolerance threshold 300, 305 to count as successfullysinging that cue. The pitch tolerance threshold for each cue 300, 305can vary according to the difficulty of the game, and can vary for eachpart. For example, for a “hard” difficulty setting, the player's inputpitch would need to be within range 315 above or below the melody cue300 to count as being successful. Where the game is set to an “easy”mode, the tolerance threshold is significantly more forgiving and agreater range 320 above and below the expected pitch is allowed. Range325 represents a forgiveness threshold for a medium or normal difficultysetting and is used for the remainder of the example. In someembodiments, the note tubes 300, 305 become “fatter” or “skinnier”(e.g., vertically wider or thinner) the easier or harder, respectively,the game is set to, and the note tubes 300, 305 themselves can representthe boundaries of their respective pitch tolerance thresholds in someimplementations.

When comparing the pitch of an input to the expected pitch representedby a note tube (target music data), a degree of matching is determinedbased on how close or how far the input is from the expected pitch. FIG.3B depicts relationships between the “distance” an input pitch is fromthe center of a note tube and the corresponding degree of matching usedin some implementations of the invention. Input 310 and note tube 300are used as examples. In some implementations, there is a linearrelationship 341 between the degree of matching and an input pitch's 310distance from the center of the note tube 300. An input pitch 310 thatis closer to the pitch at the center of the note tube 305 has a higheror greater degree of matching. As the distance between the input pitch310 from the center of the note tube 300 increases, the degree ofmatching between the input and the note tube decreases.

In some implementations 342, the degree of matching is non-linear as theinput pitch 310 gets closer to the pitch of the note tube 300, i.e., asthe input pitch gets closer to the expected pitch, the degree ofmatching increasingly increases. In other implementations 343, there isno degree of matching between the input pitch 310 and the note tube 300unless the input pitch is within a tolerance threshold 325 of the notetube. In some implementations there is a constant, rather than zero,degree of matching for any input 310 outside the tolerance threshold325. In either implementation 342 or 343, the degree of matching isnon-linear once the input pitch is within the tolerance threshold 325,i.e., as the input pitch gets closer to the pitch of the note tube, thedegree of matching increasingly increases. Other implementations (notshown) combine these approaches, for example, there is no degree ofmatching until the input pitch 310 is within the tolerance threshold 325and then the degree of matching and distance are linearly related. Otherrelationships correlating distance between the input pitch and the notetube pitch are also contemplated.

Additionally, in some versions of the implementations above, the pitchdistance can be determined modulo octave. Specifically, the octave ofthe input pitch 310 from the player is not taken into account whendetermining distance from the expected pitch of the note tube 300. Forexample, if the pitch of the note tube 300 is a C4 and the input 310from the player is a C5, the input pitch is a full octave's distanceapart. Using MIDI note numbers, for example, the input pitch has a MIDInote number of 72 and the note tube's pitch has a MIDI note number of60. However, in a modulo octave implementation, the distance would bezero since the difference in octave is not considered, e.g., there is a12 MIDI note number difference between 60 and 72, but modulo octave, inthis case, modulo 12, the difference is zero. For example, if the pitchof the note tube 300 is C4, i.e., MIDI note number 60, and the input 310from a player is the B below C5, i.e., MIDI note number 71, the distancecan be computed as 11 MIDI note numbers difference. However, thedistance between C5, i.e., 72, and B4, i.e., 71, is only 1, sopreferentially the distance is instead determined to be 1. These elevenMIDI note numbers correspond to 11 half steps pitch-wise, i.e., C4 to D(1 step) to E (1 step) to F (½ step) to G (1 step) to A (1 step) to B (1step). The distance, however, is only one half step, i.e., B to Cbecause the implementation is modulo octave.

Another way of calculating the modulo octave operation is to determinethe MIDI note number of the input pitch, increment or decrement it byoctaves until the MIDI note numbers of the pitch above and below thetarget music data MIDI note number are known, and then determine theminimum difference between the target pitch and the modulo pitches aboveand below it. As an example, an input pitch has a MIDI note number of 86(D6) and the note tube's pitch has a MIDI note number of 60 (C4). Theinput pitch's MIDI note number is decremented by an octave until it iswithin an octave of the MIDI note number of the target music data, i.e.,86 (D6) is decremented to 74 (D5), and, since 74 is still not within anoctave of 60 (C4), the MIDI note number is decremented again to 62 (D4),which is within an octave above the MIDI note number of the target musicdata (D4 is an “above-MIDI note number”). Then, because the differencecould be smaller if another octave decrement is performed, the MIDI notenumber of the input pitch is decremented again to 50 (D3) so it is belowthe MIDI note number of the target music data (D3 being a “below-MIDInote number”). Then the minimum of the difference between the MIDI notenumber of the target music data and the above-MIDI note number and theMIDI note number of the target music data and the below-MIDI note numberis determined, i.e., 62−60=|2| and 50−60=|10| (absolute values are usedto negate negative numbers). Thus, because the difference between theabove-MIDI note number and the target music data MIDI note number issmaller, the singer's input is scored as if it were sung at theabove-MIDI note number, i.e., 62 (D4). The same principle is appliedwhen the singer's input is below the pitch of the target music data; theinput pitch is incremented octave by octave until the pitches within anoctave below and an octave above the target music data's pitch aredetermined and the minimum difference is determined.

As a result, in some implementations, the degree of matching is notdirectly correlated to the distance of the input pitch 310 from the notetube 300, or as the difference expressed as MIDI note numbers. As aninput pitch 310 gets farther away from the pitch of the note tube 300,after crossing half of the scale, the input pitch begins getting closerto the octave above the pitch of the note tube, and thus getting closerto the pitch, modulo octave, of the note tube. As a result, since octavedifferences are not considered, the degree of matching actuallyincreases after the input pitch exceeds the halfway mark. Though MIDInote numbers and “pitch steps” are used above to describe the modulooctave example, the invention is not limited to this form of “distance”and, in many implementations, a difference in frequency from the inputpitch and the note tube pitch is used in distance calculations.

Advantageously, in some implementations, the accumulation of points fora given note tube 300 is directly correlated to the degree of matchingbetween the pitch of the input 310 and the pitch of the note tube 300. Ahigh degree of matching will generate a large number of points and a lowdegree of matching will generate a low number of, or zero, points. Wherethe relationship between the degree of matching and the distance isnon-linear, the closer the input 310 is to the pitch of the note tube300, the faster score accumulates. Also, in some versions, a constantamount of points, or no points, are accumulated when the input pitch 310is anywhere outside the tolerance threshold 325 of the note tube 300because there is a constant or zero degree of matching.

Referring back to FIG. 3A, presented is an implementation where thedegree of matching between an input and a cue is zero for any input thatfalls outside the threshold for that cue. At t₀, the player is singingthe pitch for cue 300 nearly perfect, and so there is a high degree ofmatching between the note tube 300 and the pitch that the player isinputting 310. At t₁, the player's pitch 310 is outside the range of thenote tube 300, but is within the tolerance threshold 325. Therefore, theinput 310 still has a degree of matching with cue 300 and so will bescored as being correct for cue 300 (even though the player's pitch att₁ has a lower degree of matching to the expected pitch of the note tube300 than at t₀). As stated with respect to FIG. 3B, in someimplementations, the closer a player's input is to the middle of a notetube, i.e., the higher the degree of matching between the player's inputand the pitch of the part for that point in time, the faster their scorefor that part is accumulated. The farther away from the middle of a tube300, the lower the degree of matching and the slower their scoreaccumulates for that cue, e.g., at t₁ compared to t₀ and more so at t₂.In other embodiments, successfully singing the part anywhere within thetolerance threshold 325 is considered correctly singing the part and thedegree of matching is high throughout the area of the threshold and lowor nonexistent outside the area of the threshold 325.

One of the benefits of the present invention is that when the playerwants to shift parts dynamically, the game platform 100 allows them todo so, even in the middle of a phrase. When a player's input 310 isoutside the tolerance threshold 325 for a particular cue 300, 305, theinput 310 is no longer assigned to that part and the player isconsidered not to be singing that cue. For example, in FIG. 3A at t₃ theplayer's input 310 is outside the tolerance threshold 325 for the melodycue 300. As a result, there is a low or zero degree of matching betweenthe player's input 310 and the note tube 300. Similarly, the player doesnot accumulate any score with respect to the melody cue 300. However,because the player is within the pitch threshold 330 for the harmony cue305, the player is scored as considered to be singing the harmony cue.In embodiments where the degree of matching varies within the threshold343, at t₃ the player's input accrues score slowly because it is stillcomparatively far from the center of the note tube 305.

To appreciate the dynamic part determination, consider in FIG. 3A, thatinput 310 is has a degree of matching with the melody vocal part 300 att₀ and t₁. At t₃ and after, input 310, however, has a very low degree ofmatching (in some implementations has no degree of matching) with themelody cue 300 and therefore input 310 is not assigned to the main vocalpart at t₃ or after. When the game platform 100 determines, e.g., viathe singing analysis module 130, that input 310 has a greater or higherdegree of matching with the harmony cue 305 at t₃, compared to anotherpart, 300 at t₃, then the game platform assigns the input 310 to theharmony part and scores the input against the harmony cue 305accordingly. This occurs even if input 310 was previously assigned toanother part earlier in the phrase or song. For example, at t₃ input 310is assigned to the harmony part based on the degree of matching withharmony cue 305 even though the input 310 was assigned to the melodypart at t₀ and t₁ based on the degree of matching with melody cue 300.

In embodiments with instruments, the degree of matching can be based onhow close a provided input is to a particular part over a period oftime, e.g., if, for example, a lead guitar part and rhythm guitar partboth have a sequence of target music data, e.g., green gem, green gem,and then the lead guitar has a blue gem while the rhythm guitar has athird green gem, the player performing a third input corresponding to agreen gem indicates that the player is attempting to play the rhythmguitar part and not the lead guitar part. Beneficially, allowance ismade for the player to make mistakes, for example, in the prior example,if the fourth and fifth inputs for the lead guitar part are also bluegems and the rhythm guitar part is two more green gems, if the playerplays a third input corresponding to a blue gem (indicating the leadguitar part) but mistakenly provides an input corresponding to the greengem part on the fourth input (which would indicate the player isattempting the rhythm guitar part), when the fifth input is provided ascorresponding to a blue gem (again, lead guitar), the degree of matchingallows for the mistaken input corresponding to the green gem and stillindicates that the player is attempting the lead guitar part. In someembodiments, the degree of matching for instruments takes intoconsideration the proximity of the gem when determining if a mistake wasmade. For example, in the prior example, if the green gem is separatedfrom the blue gem by a red gem, the player providing input correspondingto the green gem on the fourth input may not be determined to be amistake because the green gem is too far, gem-wise, from the blue gem.In that scenario, the player would be assigned to the rhythm part. If,however, the fourth input corresponded to the red gem, because the refgem is next to the blue gem, that is, in close proximity, the gameplatform determines that the fourth input, which does not correspond toeither part, is a mistake and keeps the player associated with the leadguitar part.

Biasing a Music Performance Input to a Part

Dynamic part determination, however, presents an interesting problemitself: which part is input 310 assigned to when it is within thetolerance thresholds of two parts, i.e., 325 for the melody 300 and 330for the harmony 305 such as at t₂? In scenarios where it is ambiguouswhich part the player is singing, including cases where the harmony andmelody parts use the exact same pitch, a method of determining whichpart the player is likely singing is necessary to bias a player's input310 towards a particular part to ensure proper scoring.

Still referring to FIG. 3A, in some embodiments, the player is scoredfor both parts 300, 305, and when it is determined which part the playeris singing, e.g., via the dynamic part determination above, then thescore accumulated for performing that part, e.g., 300, is assigned tothe player and the score for the other part, e.g., 305, is discarded(since input 310 falls outside the threshold 330 for the harmony 305after t₂, the player is determined not to have been singing the harmony305 at t₂).

In some implementations, for cases like at t₂ where the part a player istrying to input is ambiguous, i.e., the singer could be attempting tosing 300 or 305, historical data is examined to determine which part theplayer is intending to sing, in effect, making a player's input 310“sticky” to a particular part the singer sang before. Historical datacan be any information collected prior to the period of determination,e.g., a prior degree of matching between a prior input and a prior part,a score for each part based on prior degrees of matching between priorperformance and prior cues, prior performance data from prior songs,etc. As an example, the game platform may store scoring data accumulatedfor a particular time period or window, e.g., the last 10 seconds, andstore that scoring data in memory in locations such as melody scorememory 335, and harmony score memory 340 (though again, the game maysimply refer to these as part 1 score memory, part 2 score memory, etc,where there is no designated melody or harmony). Though not depicted,historical information for any number of parts and for any length oftime can be stored and used to in this calculation. Parts can be of anytype (e.g., a second harmony part or an instrument part) and timeperiods may be of any length (e.g., seconds, the length of the entirecurrent song, or the span of multiple song performances in the past).One use of the historical information is demonstrated with respect tot₂.

During t₀-t₂, the player is accumulating score for the melody part whilethe singer is within the tolerance threshold 325 (or alternatively atvarying rates depending on his accuracy within the threshold to themelody 300). By t₁, the player's input 310 has not entered the threshold330 for the harmony cue 305, and therefore the player has notaccumulated any score for the harmony part, but has accumulated scorefor the melody part (though scoring per “part” can be based ongenerating a score for a cue, for a series of cues, or for portion of acue, score can be kept per part, even across phrases). Approaching t₂,the player continues to accumulate score for the melody cue 300 becauseinput 310 is still within threshold 325 (and may slow as the singer getsfurther from the center of the tube 300). The score information for themelody cue 300 is stored periodically, e.g., every 60^(th) of a second,in the melody score memory 335. As the player's input 310 approaches t₂,it also enters threshold 330 for the harmony cue 305 and the playerbegins accumulating score for the harmony part. This score informationfor the harmony cue 305 is stored in the harmony score memory 340. Sinceit is ambiguous which part the player is trying to sing due to theoverlapping thresholds 325 and 330, the game platform allows for thepossibility that the player could be singing either part and thereforegenerates a score for both parts simultaneously depending on the degreeof matching between the input 310 and each respective cue 300, 305.However, the player is still assigned to the melody part for the periodwhere there is ambiguity because the score in the melody score memory335 is higher than the score in the harmony score memory 340 (becausethe singer was singing the melody prior to the ambiguity period).

Note, because the player may switch parts at any time, the historicalinformation is typically consulted only when it is ambiguous which partis being sung. For example, at t₃ in some implementations, there is noambiguity as to which part the player is singing—input pitch 310 isoutside the tolerance threshold 325 and therefore it is determined thatthe player cannot be singing the melody cue 300 and must be singingharmony cue 305. In some implementations, where the input falls outsidethe tolerance threshold of a cue, the historical data stored in melodymemory 335 and harmony score memory 340 is not consulted and thatplayer's input is no longer assigned to that part regardless of history.However, should the player's input 310 again enter the threshold 325 ofthe part 300, and it once again becomes ambiguous which part is beingsung, the historical data is consulted and the player's input 310 couldbe reassigned to the original part 300.

Biasing a player is also particularly useful when parts directlyoverlap, e.g., when the melody and harmony have the same pitch. Withoutbiasing a player to a part, a scenario could result where, before theparts converged, a first player was singing the melody and the secondplayer was singing the harmony. Upon convergence, because both playerswould be within the threshold of the part they were not singing, theycould conceivably be scored for singing the other part. Naturally, thisis not desirable—if the player singing the melody was consistentlyaccurate before the convergence—and therefore accumulating bonuspoints—and then awarded no points during the convergence because thesinger was scored only for the harmony part, this would ruin a player'senjoyment of the game. Instead, by determining that the first player wassinging the melody before and is likely singing the melody now based onthe historical performance data, the player is still associated with themelody during the converged, overlapping parts. Biasing the singer tothe melody allows the singer to continue accruing score and bonus pointsfor the melody. Likewise, if a player was singing the harmony part andthe two parts converged, it would be undesirable to score the singer foronly the melody parts, thereby negatively impacting his score for theharmony portion.

FIG. 3C depicts a scenario where cues for two vocal parts converge andthe part being sung becomes ambiguous. In FIG. 3C, vocal cue 344represents one part, such as a harmony part, and vocal cue 345represents a different part, e.g., the melody part. Each cue has atolerance threshold as described above with respect to FIG. 3A, i.e.,threshold 346 is for cue 344 and tolerance threshold 347 is for cue 345.The singer's input is depicted as line 348. Before t₀, the singer'sinput 348 is within the tolerance threshold of only cue 345 and scoredata based on the degree of matching between input 348 and cue 345 isstored in melody score memory 335. Around t₁ however, the cues 344 and345 converge to similar, though not exactly the same, pitches. As aresult, the singer's input 348 enters the tolerance threshold 346 of cue344 while also still being within the tolerance threshold 347 of cue345. As described above, when an input is within the tolerance thresholdof cues for two or more parts, it becomes ambiguous which part is beingsung. Beneficially however, up until t₁, score data has accumulated inmelody score memory 335 but not in harmony score memory 340. As aresult, during the period of ambiguity (after t₁), the game platform 100determines which part is being sung using the various methods describedherein, such as determining the degree of matching between the input 348and cue 345 compared to the degree of matching between the input 348 andcue 344, as well as determining the stickiness to the cues of 345 basedon the score data stored in melody score memory 335 compared to the lackof, or minimal, score data stored in harmony score memory 340. Again,melody score memory 335 and harmony score memory 340 are simplyreflective of memory for two different parts. Additional memory could beused for a second harmony part or the memory could not be designated asbeing for a melody or harmony part, instead simply being memory for part1 (one), part 2 (two), part 3 (three), and so forth for any number ofparts.

Another example of parts converging, specifically overlapping, isdepicted in FIG. 3D. In FIG. 3D, the melody and harmony parts overlap350, 352, 355. If a player is singing the pitch shared by the melody 350and harmony parts 352, 355 there is ambiguity between which part thesinger is singing, i.e., the singer could be singing the melody (“Mos”)or the singer could be singing the harmony (two “da” syllables). If theperson singing melody—and therefore singing “Mos”—is incorrectlyassigned to the harmony part, score is only generated for portions 352and 355. In those scenarios, the player would get no score forsuccessfully performing the melody portion (the game assigns the singerto the harmony portion and scores for that) and potentially a diminishedscore for the harmony portion (because that region is not scored for theharmony section and thus his singing is incorrect). However, biasing theplayer to a part overcomes this. If the player is biased towards themelody portion 350, for example his historical score for the melody ishigh while his historical score for the harmony is low, then the singerwill be assigned to the melody 350 and scored correctly. However, theplayer that is biased by the game toward the harmony part will be scoredonly for the harmony cues 352, 355 and will not be negatively scored fornot singing the melody at 350. Referring to the harmony cues 352, 355,advantageously, in some versions, where there is an ambiguity as towhich part the player is singing, and the part the input is assigned tohas a rest period, i.e., a cue is not present such as between cues 352and 355, a score will be generated for not singing. In other words,where the part is ambiguous and the player is not singing when the partthe singer is assigned to is not supposed to sing, the game platform 100will generate a score for the part, based on the fact that the playersilent where the singer is supposed to be silent.

FIG. 3E depicts a block diagram outlining some procedures executed onthe game platform 100, in certain embodiments, to assign a part. Thetarget music data is rendered by the game platform and displayed (360)on the display. Input is received (365), typically via an instrument ormicrophone, in response to the display of the target music data (360) asa player plays the game. The game platform, e.g., via the singinganalysis module 130, determines (370) if the input falls within thetolerance threshold of cues of two or more parts. If not, singinganalysis module assigns (375) the input to the part that corresponds tothe cue with the highest degree of matching with the input. If so, thehistorical data, e.g., a prior degree of matching with a part, a priorscore for a prior input that was assigned to the part, etc., is examined(380) to determine which of the two or more parts the input should beassigned to, and the input is assigned (385) to the determined part.After the assignment, regardless if the input was within the thresholdsof cues for multiple parts or not, the input is scored (390) based on adegree of matching with cues of the assigned part. Though biasing aplayer towards a particular part is useful, it may not be enough whenthe game platform determines later that it assigned the input to theincorrect part.

Scoring Musical Performances During and After Periods of Ambiguity

FIG. 4A depicts an exemplary screenshot where part assignment based onbiasing may be incorrect and scoring is retroactively reassigned. InFIG. 4A, the melody and harmony parts are sung with the same pitch forthe cues 400 and 405 (the parts overlap so an indication is given onscreen that the two parts are co-located, e.g., one part is outlinedwith the colors of the other part, the two parts alternate beingdisplayed, effectively flashing each part at opposing times, or othervisual effects). The singer's input is currently assigned to the melodyportion using the biasing technique above, and as the player sings thecues of the melody, the performance meter 440 a fills up. When thesinger reaches the vocal cues 410, 415 associated with the lyric “hand,”the two parts diverge and use different pitches—the harmony cue 410 hasa higher pitch than the melody cue 415. When the singer begins singingeither part, it is known at that point which part the player is singingbecause the input will be outside the tolerance threshold of one of thevocal cues, either 410 or 415. If the player sings the melody 415, thenthe scoring originally generated for the melody, and reflected in 440 a,is correct and no retroactive scoring is necessary. However, if theplayer sings the harmony 410, the game platform does not penalize theplayer for the game platform assigning the player's input to theincorrect part for 400 and 405. Instead, the game platform, after theambiguity is resolved, grants the players the points accumulated for themelody section for 400 and 405 during the ambiguity period. In someimplementations, points scored before an ambiguity period, e.g., whenthe player was known to be singing the melody, are not assigned to theplayer for performance of the harmony after the ambiguity period—it isonly score that accumulates during an ambiguity period that isretroactively assigned. In some embodiments, resolution can be delayedas long as an ambiguity period lasts, even across phrases or potentiallythroughout a song. In other embodiments, if the ambiguity still existsat the end of a phrase, the input is assigned to the part with thehigher score, assigned to a part randomly, or assigned to a preferredpart, e.g., always assigned to the melody or first part.

FIG. 4B depicts procedures executed by the invention during a period ofambiguity described above. First, the note tubes (target music data)associated with a part are displayed (445) on the display. Additionally,note tubes for a second part are also displayed on the display. Then thesinging analysis module 130 receives (450) the input from the playervia, e.g., a microphone. Then a determination (455) is made by thesinging analysis module 130 if the received input data reflects a vocalperformance that is within the tolerance thresholds of at least two ofthe target music data, e.g., is within the tolerance threshold of twoparts. If not, the input is assigned to a part (if within a threshold atall) and scored (460) as it normally would be. If so, however, thesinging analysis module 130 determines (465) a score based on the degreeof matching with the note tubes of the first part and determines (465) ascore based on the degree of matching with the note tubes of the secondpart. Though both parts accumulate score during the ambiguity,eventually one of the parts will have a greater score than the other bya predetermined amount—the player will sing one better or the parts willbegin to diverge, etc. The game platform continues (470) to score bothuntil this occurs. When the difference in scores for each part isgreater than the predetermined value, the game platform 100 assigns(475) the music performance input data to the first part or the secondpart, whichever has the greater score and keeps any score accumulatedfor the chosen part during the ambiguity as score information for thatpart.

In some cases, referring back to FIG. 3A, which part a player is singingcan be ambiguous, e.g., at t₂, without being for the exact same pitch,i.e., can be closer to one part than another yet still ambiguous. Inthese scenarios, score is accumulated for both parts. In embodimentwhere score accumulation is based on proximity of the received pitch tothe center of the tube, each score is accumulated at a different ratedepending on the degree of matching between the input and each part. Insome implementations, when the difference between the two or more scoresis above a certain threshold—that is a score accumulation for one partis outpacing, or has outpaced, the score accumulation for another partby a predetermined value—the input is assigned to the part with thefaster accumulating score. In those implementations, the scoreaccumulated during the period of ambiguity for the assigned part isgranted to the player, and the score for the other part, i.e., theslower-accumulated score, is discarded. This approach is also usefulwhere parts diverge from a common pitch to separate pitches over aperiod of time.

In some implementations, a score is determined based on which part ofmultiple parts was performed the most completely for a given time frame,e.g., for a phrase. In some of these implementations, any additionalinput is treated as a bonus or additional score. For example, in FIG. 5,cues for two parts are displayed: cues for the melody part 500, 505(depicted as cylinders), and the cues for the harmony part 510, 515, 520(depicted as rectangles). The shaded cues, 500, 510, 515 represent cuesthat the player successfully sung and the unshaded cues are ones theplayer did not sing. Again, because multiple players can contributevocal (or instrumental) input, 500 could be sung by one person, 510 byanother, and 515 by still another. Or one person could sing or play allthree tubes, 500, 510, and 515, or players can take turns singing orplaying, or other performance variations. Regardless of the number ofpeople singing or playing, it is determined that for the phrase boundedby markers 525 and 530, the input provided successfully matched one halfof the melody part, i.e., only tube 500 was performed and tube 505 wasnot, and two-thirds of the harmony part were performed, i.e., 510 and515, but tube 520 was not.

In some embodiments, the most completely performed part forms the basisof the score assigned to the vocal “player.” In this case, theperformance of the harmony cues 510, 515 is more complete for theharmony part than the melody cues 500 were for the melody part. As aresult, in some embodiments, the player(s) are awarded 66% of thepossible score for the harmony part for the phrase and nothing for themelody. In other embodiments, additional parts that were performed, butnot as completely as the most-completely-performed part, are convertedinto bonus points that are added to the score. For example, the harmonypart may be awarded 66% of the possible points for performing theharmony cues, and then 50% of the points possible for the melody areadded to that. Or, in some implementations, a fraction of theless-completed score is awarded, e.g., 10% of the possible points forthe other parts, in this case 50% multiplied by 10%, so 5% of thepossible points for the melody are added to the harmony score. In someembodiments, duration of a cue may play a part in the determination ofhow complete the performance of a particular part was. For example,performing cue 500 is considered performing seventy five percent (75%)of the melody part because the cue 500 is longer than cues 510 and isdeemed “worth more.” In some embodiments, performing only a portion ofthe cues is considered completing it 100% or a completion bonus is addedto the amount performed to achieve 100% completion. For example,sustaining a pitch for a particular duration may be heavily weighted(considered a success) and thus performing 500 and only a fraction of505 is necessary to get a 100% complete.

Allowing for a completion metric and supplemental scoring is beneficialin that it results in additional players singing to enjoy the game andachieve a high score. The supplemental scoring is accomplished byseveral functions. First, the target music data is displayed on thedisplay 105 by the game platform 100. The game platform 100 thenreceives music performance input from the player and the player's inputis associated with the first music performance, e.g., the player issinging the melody of the song according to the displayed target musicdata. Then, a new set of target music data is displayed on the display105 and a new, second, set of input is received by the game platform100. The game platform 100 calculates a score, e.g., via the singinganalysis module 130, for the first input based on the first musicperformance input data and calculates a second score based on the secondmusic performance input data. Depending on which score is higher—firstor second—the game platform chooses one as the preferred score. Forillustration purposes, assume the first score was higher. That score—thescore for the first part—becomes the effective score for both partssince it was the most complete. However, in some implementations, thesecond score is not discarded—instead the scores that were not selectedto be the preferred scores are modified via a score multiplier and thepreferred score is modified based on the non-preferred score and themultiplier. In other implementations, rather than picking a preferredscore and adding to it or modifying it, a “final score” is determinedbased on both score, e.g., they are combined, added, the first ismultiplied by the second, the second provides an incremental increase,or other means of combination.

In some implementations, the phrase performance meters 240 reflect theperformance so far for a part, e.g., when a first harmony is sixty sixpercent complete, sixty-six percent of the corresponding phraseperformance meter, e.g., 240 b, fills. Similarly, when fifty percent ofthe melody is completed, fifty percent of the melody performance meter,e.g., 240 a, is filled. In some implementations, phrase performance doesnot directly map to filling a meter. For example, performing sixtypercent of a part is “good enough” to consider the phrase two-thirdscomplete, or eighty percent is good enough to consider the phrase onehundred percent complete where there are four tubes to sing (and therebyeach tube counting for twenty-five percent). In some embodiments, themost-completely performed part—or most filled phrase performancemeter—contributes to a counter that fills the score multiplierindicators 250, e.g., the more complete the performance of a part, themore the meter is filled. In some implementations, less-completeperformances of other parts also contribute to filling the scoremultiplier indicators 250.

Pitch Guide that Displays Multiple Octaves and Harmonically RelevantPitches

One aspect provides an improved method of displaying vocal cues. Toincrease the player's appreciation of the relative difference betweenpitches represented by the vertical position of a pitch cue, the shadingon the backdrop behind the vocal cues divides the spaces intooctave-sized regions. For example, in FIG. 6A, several octave ranges aredepicted in lane 600 (denoted by the three groupings of three lines),e.g., an octave the singer is currently singing is 605, an octave above610 the one the singer is singing, and an octave below 615 what thesinger is singing. Displaying the different octaves and specific noteintervals in the scale, the game assists players in gauging the pitchesthe singer is supposed to sing. Showing the player that there aremultiple octaves or only one provides context for the player to know howvaried a part is pitch-wise. For example, in FIG. 6A, lane 600 displaysa large vocal range, where as lane 620, displays only one, or one and ahalf, octaves. Optionally, the octaves can be colored with different oralternating color patterns such that one octave's background is a darktan and an octave above or below it is a light tan.

Another beneficial aspect is that horizontal lines 625 a, 625 b(collectively 625) (and denoted by 605, 610, 615 as well) in each lane600, 620 indicate pitches that make musical sense in the context of thesong. It is typical for note tubes pictured to line up with one of thebackground lines because the note tubes represent pitches in the song,and the pitches in the song are typically related musically. As anexample, the songs depicted in 600 and 625 could both be in the key ofA, in which case the lines 625 indicate A, C♯, and E. Though for othersongs these lines may refer to different pitches. For example, in thekey of Cm, these lines would refer to C, E♭ (E flat), and G. Some songsuse a wider range of pitches than others, and the background and line625 spacing can pan and scale to accommodate variable ranges. Forexample, lane 600 has a wider pitch range (three octaves) than lane 620,so the backdrops have different vertical scale.

What is harmonically relevant depends on the song. In some embodiments,the horizontal lines reflect specific notes or a scale or chord. Forexample, the specific notes of a major chord may be the tonic, the 3rd,and the 5th of the scale. In other embodiments, the horizontal linesreflect specific notes of a minor chord, e.g., a tonic, minor 3rd, and5th of the scale. Optionally the notes could include a 7th or othernotes of the scale. In some embodiments the horizontal lines reflectspecific notes of a particular mode of a scale, e.g., the Ionian,Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, or Locrian modes, or thelike. Beneficially, these embodiments can be combined. For example, thegame platform causes the display to display the horizontal lines of afirst phrase of a song as reflecting the notes a major chord, thehorizontal lines of the next phrase is displayed reflecting the notes ofa minor chord, and then a third phrase again is displayed reflecting amajor chord. Optionally a mode can be substituted for any of the chordsin the preceding example. Beneficially, the lines 625 a, 625 b indicatethe harmonically relevant pitches. In some implementations, 625 a, 625 bare not lines, but are perceivable gaps in the coloring or shading of asection.

Before a song begins, the game platform 100 determines, in someimplementations by a song analysis module (not displayed), which pitchesto demarcate as harmonically relevant. Advantageously, the game platform100 can also change the demarcations during a song on a per phrase basisif applicable, e.g., the song has multiple keys. The game platform 100analyzes the song or phrase, (i.e., analyzes the musical data of thesong) to determine a scale within the song. The lane is displayed with anumber of interval demarcations based on the scale. Also, a backgroundto the lane is displayed with a color scheme that is based onpreselected pitches of the scale. Then the song data (or target musicdata) is displayed. Beneficially, the display of the pitch range for anyphrase is can be dynamic—that is a phrase with low notes can bedisplayed with a given pitch range and note density and another phrasecan be displayed with a different pitch range and note density.

Dynamically Displaying a Pitch Range

Dynamically displaying a pitch range allows the game to display a laneof a constant size, but to shift the displayed area to different upperand lower pitches, and to “zoom in” and “zoom out” of the displayedpitch range to display different pitch or note tube densities. In someembodiments pitch density is the spacing between the note tubes. Inother implementations it corresponds to the thickness of note tubes. Instill other implementations, pitch density is a combination of tubespacing and tube thickness. Where the pitch density of the currentportions is different than the pitch density of a prior portion, thespacing between note tubes or gems of the displayed pitches is changed.Advantageously, some implementations utilize both dynamic rangefunctionalities, that is utilizes both shifting the displayed pitch areaand dynamically altering the pitch density. Beneficially, thesedeterminations can be made before gameplay begins or during gameplay ona portion-by-portion basis.

To shift the displayed area, in some implementations, the game platform100 divides a song into portions. In some implementations this isperformed by a song analysis module (not displayed). Portions can bephrases or other musically significant divisions, e.g., bars orgroupings of two or more notes. The game platform 100 then determines adeviation between the highest note and the lowest note for each portionto determine the pitch range for that portion. When displayed, thelowest note of a portion of the song typically aligns with the bottom ofthe lane and the upper note of a portion typically aligns with the topof the lane, even if there is a higher note later in the song. The gameplatform 100 then determines a pitch density for the entire song—whichis used to determine the size of the lane in some implementations—basedon the largest pitch range of all portions. This allows the highest noteand lowest note of every portion to fit within the viewable area. Then,each portion is displayed via display logic of the game platform 100within the lane on the display 105. Beneficially, because some portionswill have notes that are higher than notes in other portions (or noteslower than those in other portions) the viewable area that displays thenotes for that portion can change positions according to the changes inpitches.

FIG. 6B depicts a shiftable display window 627 and a display 628 thatutilizes a dynamic zoom. Regarding the shiftable display 627, themusical composition is divided up into portions 630, 635, and 640. Thepitches of 635 are higher than the pitches of 630 or 640. Rather thancreate a lane that is based on the lowest note of the entire song andthe highest note of the entire song and then display 630, 635, and 640within that static lane, the present invention shifts the position ofthe viewable area (shown in box outline) such that the displayed portionencompasses on the range between the highest and lowest notes of thatportion. In some versions, as the portions are displayed, the viewablearea is shifted or its position altered to reflect the change ortransition to the player. For example, transitioning between portion 630and 635, the viewable area shifts up between the end of 630 and thebeginning of 635 to make the higher notes in 635 visible. As a result,the note tubes will appear to slide down, which allows for higher notesto be displayed in the window for the duration of portion 635. Thisindicates to the player that the notes of 635 should be sung higher thanthose of 630. A similar transition is made from portion 635 to portion640, where the viewable area shifts down (causing the note tubes toappear to slide up). To clarify, the viewable area “shifting up” doesnot mean that the display itself slides up. Rather, the viewable area isthe focal point that instructs which region of the pitches to display inthe lane. In other words, when the viewable area conceptually shifts up,it has the effect of making the note tubes appear to slide downwards,allowing for more room to show higher notes in an upcoming portion.Similarly, when the viewable area shifts down, it has the effect ofmaking the note tubes appear to slide upwards, allowing for more room toshow lower notes in an upcoming portion. The shifting and/or thevertical manipulation of note tubes therefore provide a means to alterthe viewable area's position based on the portion being displayed orabout to be displayed.

In some implementations, the “zoom value,” or the deviation betweenhighest and lowest notes is changeable. In FIG. 6B, 628 depicts threeportions, 645, 650, 655 with altered zoom values. This allows portionthat have a narrow range, e.g., with tubes spread over a small pitchrange, e.g., one octave, such as 645 and 655 to easily be displayed withsufficient distance between the note tubes, while at the same timeallowing for “zooming out” when it is necessary to display a wider pitchrange, e.g., three octaves, such as that of 650. As a reference, thenote tubes 657 a, 657 b, 657 c represent the same notes in each portion645, 650, 655. In portion 650, the note tubes 657 b appear verticallycloser together than the note tubes 657 a of portion 645 because thepitch density (i.e., zoom value) is higher for portion 650 to allow thegreater pitch range of 650 to be displayed.

In some implementations, the game platform 100, via display logic,directs the display 105 to visually zoom in and zoom out when displayingportions of different densities. This is accomplished similar to thesteps above with respect to a shiftable display—the song is divided intoportions, and the pitch range for each portion is determined. Then thegame platform 100 determines a display density for each portion based onthe pitch range of that portion. Then the portion is displayed with apitch density that is alterable based on the displayed portion. Forexample, transitioning between portion 645 and 650 alters the appearanceof the viewable area such that the portion appears to zoom out to showthe greater pitch range of 650 (the highest note of 650 could not bedisplayed in 645 because it is outside the viewable area displayed in645). Then, because 655 does not have the high pitches that 650 does,the viewable area zooms in and displays a pitch density that correspondsto the highest note and lowest notes of 655. In some implementations,the visual effect of transitioning from 645 to 650 is that the notetubes appear to shrink in the vertical dimension to allow for widerspan, or larger number, of note tubes to be displayed in a single lane.

Referring back to FIG. 6A, for example, lane 620 has a particular zoomvalue, e.g., showing only a pitch range of an octave, whereas lane 600has a pitch range that shows three octaves. Alternatively, the zoomvalue can be set based on the deviation between the lowest note of allportions and the highest note of all portions, i.e., the deviation canbe determined for the whole song.

Beneficially, dynamic pitch range is not limited to vocal parts; someembodiments use dynamic pitch range for instrumental parts such as akeyboard, guitar, or drums as well. FIG. 6C shows another example ofdynamic range display as it applies to displaying instrumental targetmusic data. In FIG. 6C, the range of target music data spans twelvesub-lanes 660. For some displays, or in situations with multipleinstruments and vocals being displayed on one display, twelve sub-lanesdo not fit on the screen. Beneficially, one aspect of the presentinvention dynamically determines how many sub-lanes to display at onceand which sections of the twelve lanes to display at one time, e.g., thelow, left-most range 662 of five sub-lanes, middle range 664 of foursub-lanes, or high, right-most range 666 of three sub-lanes, orcombinations of these, e.g., the low and middle range or portions ofthese combined, e.g., the two rightmost lanes of the low range 662 andthe three left-most lanes of the middle range 664.

Again, the musical composition is divided into portions 668, 670, 672.Then the game platform 100 determines the pitch range for each portion,and each portion is displayed with the appropriate number of sub-lanes.The amount to zoom in, or in this case, the number of sub-lanes todisplay, is determined based on the left-most and right-most gems, e.g.,five sub-lanes difference in portion 668, four gems difference inportion 670, and three gems difference in portion 672. Additionally oralternatively, the game platform 100 determines a limited area of thetotal twelve-sub-lane to display, e.g., only the low portion, or onlythe middle portion, or only the high portion, or combinations of low andmiddle, middle and high, or other combinations. For portion 668, thegame platform 100 determines that only the five sub-lanes of section 662are required. Therefore, during portion 668, the display window'sposition is altered such that only 662's sub-lanes are displayed, and alane similar to 674 is displayed to the player. Then, as gameplayprogresses, the game platform determines for portion 670, only thesub-lanes of section 664 need to be displayed and the display windowshifts horizontally to the right to display only the sub-lanes of 664.Then, similarly, for portion 672, the display window shifts to the rightagain and displays only the sub-lanes of section 666, i.e., as shown in676 of FIG. 6D. It should be noted that in the above example, as thedisplay window shifts to the right, the sub-lanes and gems appear toshift to the left while simultaneously scrolling towards the player.

Beneficially, continuing the above example, not only is the position ofthe display window altered by moving from left to right as gameplaytransitions between portions, but similarly, the zoom value used todisplay each portion changes. Portion 662 is rendered as a five sub-lanelane 674 in FIG. 6C whereas portion 672 is rendered as a three sub-lanelane 676 in FIG. 6D. The pitch density of the lane, i.e., the number ofsub-lanes, dynamically changes with each portion. Furthermore, ifportions 670 and 672 combined, such as in implementations where agreater pitch range is allowed per portion, or implementations for akeyboard peripheral where the user can play the game with both hands,the displayed pitch density can account for more than one portion anddisplay a lane to the player such as 678 that combines sub-lanes ofdifferent sections, here sections 664 and 666. This is accomplished bydetermining the highest and lowest notes of adjacent portions and takingthe maximum of the highest notes for each portion and the minimum of thelowest notes for each portion and determining the pitch range of thecombination based on the maximum high note and the minimum low note.

Referring now to FIG. 7, displayed is a vocal performance where theplayer's input is displayed at both the pitch input and the pitch modulooctave to another part. Because some implementations are modulo octave,beneficially the present invention can display the player's input withrespect to multiple octaves since performing at a modulo octave pitchmay be closer to the target music data than the pitch being sung by theplayer. In implementations where the octave an input is does not matter,it may be ambiguous which part a player is singing. For example, in FIG.7, the player's input 705 is close to cue 710 of a harmony part.However, if octaves are not considered, the player's input, an octavelower 715 (shown in phantom) is also close to cue 720, which is part ofthe melody. Displaying the player's input at additional octave rangesallows the player to switch parts mid-phrase without drasticallychanging their pitch, should that pitch be close to the cues of anotherpart. Additionally, the player's singing may be within the tolerancethreshold of multiple parts when octave is not considered and they maybe dynamically assigned to and/or scored for either part during theperiod where it is ambiguous if they are singing 710 or 720.

Displaying multiple arrows is accomplished when the game platform 100receives music performance data via a microphone. The game platform 100displays the player's input on the display as pitch marker that isreflective of the music performance input data, e.g., indicates therelative pitch of the performance. Then, the game platform 100 displays,on the display 105, substantially simultaneously with the display of thefirst pitch marker, a second pitch marker at a vertical offset from thefirst pitch marker. The offset is indicative of an octave differencebetween the first pitch marker and the second pitch marker, such asbeing an octave above the first pitch marker or an octave below thefirst pitch marker. Alternatively, if the lane is displayed to showmultiple octaves, the second pitch marker can be displayed at any octaveoffset from the first pitch marker.

The singing analysis module 130 of the game platform 100 will, in someembodiments, calculate a score for the first pitch marker based on acomparison between the first pitch marker and the pitch component of thevocal cue. Additionally, the singing analysis module 130 of the gameplatform 100 calculates a second score for the second pitch marker basedon a comparison between the second pitch marker and the pitch componentof the vocal cue. Alternatively, the score can be calculated for thesecond pitch marker if the input has a degree of matching with adifferent part, e.g., a harmony line an octave below the melody line theplayer was singing.

Practice Mode for Multiple Musical Parts

To assist players that wish to sing or perform different parts, apractice mode is provided where multiple parts are displayed, but onlyone is scored. In FIG. 8, the player has selected to practice a harmonypart (cues 800, 805, 810). In certain embodiments, the other parts,e.g., the cues 815, are still displayed, but are dimmed or made lessvisible (here shown in phantom). In some of these implementations, thedynamic part determination described above is turned off and a player'sinput is not assigned to any part but the chosen practice part. Further,the player's input will only generate score based on the degree ofmatching between the input and the note tube of the selected practicepart. Additionally, in some versions, an audible tone is played via thesound processing module 135 that matches the pitch of the part beingpracticed. The tone can be barely audible, as loud as the other musicdata reproduced by the game platform 100, or louder than other outputsof the game platform 100.

Specifically, the practice mode is enabled by displaying, on the display105, a note tube or target music data associated with the song ormusical composition. The game platform 100 receives via an inputinterface or menu, or alternatively determined based on the player'sperformance using dynamic part determination, a particular part theplayer wants performed, such as the part associated with 800, 805, 810.Then the game platform 100 produces an audio output via the soundprocessing module 135 associated with the vocal cues, e.g., singing ormusic for the selected part. Optionally, audible sounds, lyrics, ornotes can be played for all parts. Further, the game platform 100 canproduce a synthesized tone associated with the selected part that helpsthe player match their voice to the pitch of the audible tone. As theplayer practices the part, a score is calculated based on the degree ofmatching between the player's input and the note tube of the selectedpart. If a different part is selected for practice, an audible tone forthat part is played and the other, non-selected parts are then dimmed(including the first-selected part if it was not chosen again). Allowingthe player to practice a section and not be dynamically assigned to adifferent part improve the player's enjoyment of the game.

Prior art games display scrolling vocal cues and scrolling text.Unfortunately, this can cause blurring of the text on certain displays105 and or screen “tearing.” One aspect of the invention provides animproved way of displaying lyrics and target music data.

Displaying Song Lyrics and Vocal Cues

FIG. 9 displays two visual modes for displaying target music data andlyrics in the game. Lane 900 depicts the display method described above,namely the note tubes 920 a move (from right to left in this case)towards a Now Bar 925 a and a first set of lyrics 910 moves towards theNow Bar in time with the cues 920 a. An improved method is depicted inlane 915. In lane 915, the vocal cues 920 b still move towards the NowBar 925 b, but the text of the lyrics is static—that is, the lyrics donot move horizontally with the vocal cues 920 b. Instead the lyricsremain fairly stationary while the cues 920 b move towards the Now Bar925 b. As the vocal cue that corresponds to a lyric begins to passthrough (or in some cases before it passes through) the vertical planeof the Now Bar 925 b, the coloration of the text changes such that theplayer knows what lyric or syllable the singer is supposed to besinging. After the vocal cue for that portion has passed through the NowBar 925 b, the coloration changes indicating the user is “done” withthat lyric and does not need to sing it.

This is accomplished by the game platform 100 displaying, on the display105 via display logic, a vocal cue and moving the vocal cue on thedisplay towards a target marker in synchronization with the timing ofthe song. Then, the game platform 100 displays, on the display 105, alyric associated with the vocal cue in a fixed position until the vocalcue has moved to a particular position with respect to the target markersuch as the over or past the target marker.

Beneficially, a “queued” word also has its color changed so the playerknows it is not the lyric the singer is singing now, but it will be thenext lyric the singer sings. For example the lyric that should be sung“or” in some versions would be colored green. “Madam”, the next lyric orsyllable is colored white. Then the remaining lyrics, as well as lyricsalready sung, are colored grey. By having the lyrics remain static andhave the note tubes still move, this aspect of the invention overcomesthe blurring and tearing of the lyric text experienced on some displayswith prior art vocal games.

Selectively Displaying Song Lyrics

In one aspect of the invention, a way of determining which lyrics todisplay to players in a multi-vocal-part game is provided. In FIG. 10,two sets of lyrics are displayed: lyrics 1010 associated with the melodypart or “main line” and lyrics 1015 associated with the harmony part.There are, however, three sets of vocal cues, i.e., cues 1020 associatedwith the melody, cues 1025 associated with a first harmony portion andcues 1030 associated with a second harmony portion. The two harmonylines 1025, 1030 can have different pitches, but only one set of lyricsbetween the two can be displayed.

Advantageously, each set of lyrics is assigned a priority by the gameplatform 100. Typically the two lyric lines with the highest prioritiesare displayed, although in some implementations the priority isdetermined randomly at run-time. In some embodiments, the priority isassigned to each lyric line by the game developer, while in others, itcan be chosen by the players before gameplay begins or during gameplay.

Determining which lyrics to display begins by the game platform 100determining how many vocal cues will need to be displayed. Then, basedeither on limitations provided by the game developer before the game isexecuted or determined at run-time, the game platform 100 determines thenumber of areas available to display lyrics. When the number of spacesto display lyrics is less than the number of vocal cues (orcorrespondingly the number of vocal cues is greater than the availablespaces) the game platform 100 determines which lyrics have the highestpriority and displays the lyrics, one set per display area, in priorityorder until the number available spaces have been exhausted.

In FIG. 10, the vocal cue 1020 is associated with a part such as themelody and the lyric 1010 is associated with the vocal cue 1020. Asecond vocal cue 1025 and third vocal cue 1030 are displayed, eachcorresponding to a second and a third part in the song such as tworespective harmony parts. Each lyric or set of lyrics is examined todetermine the priority associated with each lyric or set of lyrics(though this determination can also be made before displaying the secondand third cues, or even before the cues for the melody are displayed).As explained above, the lyrics (or set of lyrics) with the highestpriority are displayed. In some implementations, where different partsare designated as melody and harmony parts, the melody lyrics are alwaysdisplayed and priority determinations are only made with respect to theharmony parts. The game developer can also assign a predeterminedpriority to a certain part's lyrics on a per-song basis, e.g., the firstharmony part's lyrics have a higher priority for “She's got a ticket toride” whereas the second harmony part's lyrics have a higher priorityfor “Here comes the sun.” The game developer can also assign prioritiessuch that the lyrics of one of the parts are always displayedirrespective of song, e.g., the first harmony part's lyrics are alwaysdisplayed. In other embodiments, the player can select via a menu toalways display a certain part's lyrics, e.g., the lyrics for the firstharmony part. Additionally, in some versions, the player can activelydecide to display a different set of lyrics during gameplay by selectinga different set of lyrics via a menu. This can be done by overriding thepriority determination or, alternatively, by assigning the chosen lyricsthe highest priority and performing the priority determination again.

In some embodiments, a lyric's priority can be determined randomly atrun time if multiple sets of lyrics have the same priority assigned tothem by the developer. Beneficially this adds to the player's enjoymentbecause different lyrics are displayed for each session and latergameplay sessions are not performed exactly like prior gameplaysessions. In some embodiments, the priority determination is done at thebeginning of a song, while in others the determination is made on aper-phrase or per-bar basis. Notably, the parts associated with each setof lyrics do not need to be designated as the melody part and twoharmony parts. In some embodiments there are three or more harmony partswith no melody parts. In other embodiments there are three or more partsthat are not designated as a melody or harmony and instead are justconsidered different parts. Other combinations, e.g., two melodies andone harmony and the like are also contemplated

Preventing an Unintentional Deploy of a Bonus

As described earlier, either vocally or with an instrument, a deployablebonus can become available (see bonus meter 245 in FIG. 2) to theplayer. In some vocal implementations, a bonus is “deployed” when aninput is received that is of a certain volume and for a certainduration, e.g., by singing or screaming or rapping or growling when nolyrics or note tubes are presented to the player. If a player attemptsto deploy the bonus, the input from the player is added as “energy” to a“meter” (not displayed to the player) and if the meter fills within acertain timeframe, the bonus is deployed. Forcing the player to providean input at a certain volume and/or for a certain duration, andtherefore fill the internal meter, prevents accidental deploys caused bybackground noise or accidental input by the player. However, in systemswhere multiple players are providing input and microphones are not tiedto particular parts, a person attempting to sing a vocal part mayaccidentally trigger a deployable bonus, which is undesirable. To solvethis problem, players can at times be prevented from deploying a bonus.

FIG. 11 depicts a screenshot of a scenario where a deployable bonus isavailable at different times 1100, 1105 to the person singing leadvocals and to the person singing melody vocals. Again, becausemicrophones are not tied to a part, the deployable bonus is reallyavailable in either time frame to anyone that wants to activate it. Forexample, during deploy period 1100, in prior art systems someone singing“twist and shout” at a certain volume for a certain duration wouldtrigger the bonus. Such an outcome is undesirable because the player'sintent is to sing a part of a song, not to deploy a bonus. With thecurrent invention, if the player signing into a microphone is determinedto be successfully singing an available part because their input has adegree of matching with any given part, they will be prevented fromdeploying a bonus.

Continuing the example, during deploy period 1105, the player is singing“shout” successfully and therefore the player's input 1110 has a degreeof matching with vocal cue 1115. As explained above, the degree ofmatching can be a measure of how close the input pitch 1110 is to thevocal cue 1115, or the input pitch 1110 can simply be within thetolerance threshold (not displayed) of the vocal cue 1115, or acombination of these depending on the implementation. When the singinganalysis module 130 of the game platform 100 determines, e.g., via thesinging analysis module 130, that because an input has a degree ofmatching with a part being displayed, then the game platform preventsthat input from satisfying the bonus deploy criteria(certain-volume-for-a-certain-time criteria) and effectively blocks thatinput from triggering the bonus deploy (in some embodiments, itaccomplishes this by not counting the volume or duration of the inputtowards the internal meter that determines if the volume or duration ofan input satisfies the triggering criteria). Then, because the melodypart 1115 does not have a vocal cue or lyrics to be sung, the bonus canbe deployed during the melody parts' period of silence (indicated atdeploy period 1100). During 1100, if any player, including the personthat just sung the melody, sings either the harmony part 1120, 1125successfully, that person is also prevented from deploying the bonus.However, if the person provides input that is above a certain volume fora certain period, and that input does not have a degree of matching witheither cue/part 1120, 1125, then the bonus will be deployed.

The above-described techniques can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombinations of them. The implementation can be as a computer programproduct, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in amachine-readable storage device, for execution by, or to control theoperation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor,a computer, a game console, or multiple computers or game consoles. Acomputer program can be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. Acomputer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or gameconsole or on multiple computers or game consoles at one site ordistributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communicationnetwork.

Method steps can be performed by one or more programmable processorsexecuting a computer or game program to perform functions of theinvention by operating on input data and generating output. Method stepscan also be performed by, and apparatus can be implemented as a gameplatform such as a dedicated game console, e.g., PLAYSTATION®2,PLAYSTATION® 3, or PSP® manufactured by Sony Corporation; WII™, NINTENDODS®, NINTENDO DSi™, or NINTENDO DS LITE™ manufactured by Nintendo Corp.;or XBOX® or XBOX 360® manufactured by Microsoft Corp. or special purposelogic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or anASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or other specializedcircuit. Modules can refer to portions of the computer or game programand/or the processor/special circuitry that implements thatfunctionality.

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer or gameconsole. Generally, a processor receives instructions and data from aread-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essentialelements of a computer or game console are a processor for executinginstructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions anddata. Generally, a computer also includes, or be operatively coupled toreceive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storagedevices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, oroptical disks. Data transmission and instructions can also occur over acommunications network. Information carriers suitable for embodyingcomputer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatilememory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g.,EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internalhard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM andDVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, the above described techniquescan be implemented on a computer or game console having a displaydevice, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display)monitor, a television, or an integrated display, e.g., the display of aPSP® or Nintendo DS. The display can in some instances also be an inputdevice such as a touch screen. Other typical inputs include simulatedinstruments, microphones, or game controllers. Alternatively input canbe provided by a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or atrackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer or gameconsole. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide for interactionwith a user as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can beany form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback,or tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in anyform, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The above described techniques can be implemented in a distributedcomputing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a dataserver, and/or a middleware component, e.g., an application server,and/or a front-end component, e.g., a client computer or game consolehaving a graphical user interface through which a user can interact withan example implementation, or any combination of such back-end,middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system can beinterconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication,e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networksinclude a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”),e.g., the Internet, and include both wired and wireless networks.

The computing/gaming system can include clients and servers or hosts. Aclient and server (or host) are generally remote from each other andtypically interact through a communication network. The relationship ofclient and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on therespective computers and having a client-server relationship to eachother.

The invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments. Thealternatives described herein are examples for illustration only and notto limit the alternatives in any way. The steps of the invention can beperformed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method executed on a game platform incommunication with a display, the method comprising: instructing thedisplay to display a first vocal cue; instructing the display to movethe first vocal cue toward a target marker; and instructing the displayto display a first lyric at a fixed position until the first vocal cuehas moved to a particular position with respect to the target marker. 2.The method of claim 1, the particular position with respect to thetarget marker includes a position that is vertically aligned with thetarget marker.
 3. The method of claim 1, instructing the display to movethe first vocal cue includes instructing the display to alter ahorizontal position of the first vocal cue from a right side of thedisplay to a left side of the display.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe particular position with respect to the target marker includes alocation that is on a left side of a vertical plane of the targetmarker.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: instructing thedisplay to display a second vocal cue associated with the first vocalcue; and instructing the display to display a second lyric associatedwith the second vocal cue.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprisinginstructing the display to change a color of the first lyric based on aposition of the first vocal cue with respect to the target marker. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein instructing the display to change thecolor of the first lyric based on the position of the first vocal cueincludes instructing the display to change the color of the first lyricwhen the first vocal cue is vertically aligned with the target marker.8. Tangible, non-transitory computer readable media comprisingmachine-readable executable code operable to cause a data processingapparatus to: instruct a display, in communication with the dataprocessing apparatus, to display a first vocal cue; instruct the displayto move the first vocal cue toward a target marker; and instruct thedisplay to display a first lyric at a fixed position until the firstvocal cue has moved to a particular position with respect to the targetmarker.
 9. A system comprising a data processing apparatus, wherein thedata processing apparatus is configured to: instruct a display, incommunication with the data processing apparatus, to display a firstvocal cue; instruct the display to move the first vocal cue toward atarget marker; and instruct the display to display a first lyric at afixed position until the first vocal cue has moved to a particularposition with respect to the target marker.
 10. An apparatus comprising:means for instructing a display, in communication with a data processingapparatus, to display a first vocal cue; means for instructing thedisplay to move the first vocal cue toward a target marker; and meansfor instructing the display to display a first lyric at a fixed positionuntil the first vocal cue has moved to a particular position withrespect to the target marker.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereininstructing the display to move the first vocal cue toward the targetmarker includes instructing the display to move the first vocal cuetoward the target marker in synchronization with a timing component of amusical composition.